Agenda item

Older People Task Group Report

Minutes:

The Chairman invited Councillor Mrs. M. Bunker, Chairman of the Older People Task Group to introduce the report.

The Chairman of the Older People Task Group firstly thanked those involved in the Task Group, both Members and Officers and Ms. A. Sowton (Bromsgrove & Redditch Network, BARN) who was co-opted onto the Task Group, for their assistance. She then went on to give details of the work carried out which included presentations from a variety of sources including Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT), Age Concern and an Independent Financial Advisor.

The Task Group Chairman said they had contacted various partner agencies but had been disappointed that they had not received a response from the Parish Councils, as it was felt that they would be a useful contact to assist in making information available to the relevant residents.

Members were advised that Wythall Parish Council were in fact arranging a “Seniors Information Day” in September 2010 and would be writing to all relevant agencies inviting them to attend in order to promote the services they provided and invited the Portfolio Holder for Vulnerable & Older People (including Lifeline) to attend. The Portfolio Holder agreed that this was an excellent idea and the Board discussed in more detail the use of Older People’s Champions and how Parish Councillors could be supportive in this particular area.

The Chairman of the Task Group gave details of the success which was achieved by promoting and publicising events being held with partner agencies to celebrate UK Older People’s Day. Positive feedback had been received from residents and the Council’s Community Services had successfully participated in this event.

The Task Group had identified the need to provide clear information on key services in a variety of formats and the need to establish a single point of contact for information on what services were available and how to access those services easily. The recommendations within the report highlighted the importance of this and the need to raise awareness of the extensive range of existing services. The creation of an A-Z Directory would be an integral part of communicating this information and it was important that it was done in a format that was “user friendly” and it was hoped that paper copies would be available, not just electronic versions. Members then discussed the various ways in which this information could be made available. The Head of Financial Services confirmed that £8,000 had been made available for 2010/11 and a further £10,000 for the following year. The Portfolio Holder advised that, example A-Z Directories from other councils were being looked at as a template on which to base the Council’s own. A working group would be formed to ensure that this was moved forward and updates would be provided to the Board on a regular basis.

Members congratulated the Chairman of the Older People Task Group on completion of an impressive piece of work and the comprehensive topics covered in it. It was a piece of work which should be publicised and used to encourage other Members to participate in Task Groups as this showed that they could make a difference and every opportunity should be used to promote this.

It was agreed that the recommendations should be transferred to the recommendation tracker with a timetable set to ensure that the recommendations were implemented.

The Board discussed, in detail, with the Chairman of the Older People Task Group the origin of the Task Group and if the Chairman felt there was a need to carry out further investigations. The Chairman explained that the Assistant Chief Executive had, during the course of the Task Group, contacted Worcestershire County Council (WCC) in respect of the Older People’s Strategy for Worcestershire, which was currently being revised. She confirmed that the Older People Task Group Report covered Levels 1 and 2 and that it would be appropriate for the Board to investigate Levels 3, 4 and 5 which dealt with dependency created by older age. Officers confirmed that this had in fact been included in the Board’s Work Programme, with an initial presentation to the meeting on 27th April 2010.

Having considered the findings and recommendations contained within the report which related to the Overview investigation undertaken by the Older People Task Group, it was

RESOLVED:

(a) that the report and recommendations contained within it are approved; and

(b) that the report be submitted to Cabinet.

Supporting documents: