Community budgets are taxing our minds in Wokingham at present. This is partly because of renewed interest following the announcement from decentralisation minister, Greg Clarke, that councils can ask for a 'deal' with central government, but mainly because we are working towards the concept from a very different starting point. We are often described as a 'small and leafy' borough, and that is an im- age which our residents like and cherish. Yet we also have a handful of areas which challenge that perception because they are relatively deprived, and are more marginalised and excluded precisely because they are surrounded by wealthier areas.
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