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Hampshire Association of Older People’s Forums Meeting

Date Friday 20th January 2012Time 10am – 12.30pm Location Denning Room, Podium Level, QEII Court, The Castle, Winchester

PresentFrank Rust (Chair) Aldershot Senior Citizen’s ForumDerek Smithers Winchester District Over 55s Forum/Hampshire

Independent Equalities ForumHaydn Watkins Andover and District Older Persons ForumPenny Watkins Andover and District Older Persons ForumJean Buckle Havant 50+ ForumChris Davis Havant 55+ ForumSusan Moody ESPOPFChris Cornwell Hartley Wintney Older People’s Well-Being ForumDorothy Harvey Hartley Wintney Older People’s Well-Being ForumGraham Finlayson Basingstoke and Deane Over 55s ForumMargaret Forrest Meon Valley Active Retirement AssociationAndree North STOICKaren Ferris Older People’s Well-Being Team, HCCDavid Harris (Minutes) Wellbeing and Partnerships, HCC Alex Burn Older People’s Well-Being Team, HCC

ApologiesGerald Merritt Basingstoke and Deane Over 55s ForumVeronica Lucas Gosport Older Persons ForumRichard Strong Gosport Older Persons Forum

Action

1. Open and welcome Frank opened the meeting, welcomed all and noted apologies (as above).

2. Extra Item

Alex Burn introduced a item on “support to the Hampshire Association of Older People’s Forum”

Alex proposed that the Forum appoints Karen Ferris as their support worker wef 1st April 2012. The position would involve 7.5 hours per week with a total monetary cost to the Forum of £7,600PA which would include pay and expenses.

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Alex confirmed that the Forum had funding in place to cover the first 12 month period and stated that part of the support workers role was to identify and apply for future funding.

Concern was raised that if the Silver Dreams application was successful it would require substantial support on an ongoing basis and it was felt that the 7.5 hours would be insufficient. Alex confirmed that if the Silver Dreams application was successful the grant will include funding for support.

The Forum agreed to the proposal.

2.1 Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Minutes of the meeting held on the 25th November were agreed.

2.2 Matters ArisingActions:Item 2.2 – Frank Rust informed the Forum that he has received a standard reply from the DWP. See attached.

Item 8 – Positive Ageing event 16th March 2012 – Karen advised the forum that they would have a 10 – 15 minute slot on the agenda to promote the work of this Form and the local Forums. It was agreed to proceed on the basis of a 10 – 15 min slot and in the meantime Karen will investigate further to determine the level of involvement expected. Frank requested that all members forward to him or Karen details of any key events their forums have been involved in. He anticipated that one representative from each forum will be invited to the event.Update: Confirmed HAOPF have a 10 minute slot at ‘How Old is Old?’16.3.12

Item 9 – English Forums on Ageing – Diagnostic Tool. Action not complete, to be carried forward to May meeting.

Item 12 – Closure of residential care homes in Hampshire. The Chair commented that to take this issue forward is very difficult and for it to succeed the request for information would need to be specific. Action:Agreed that as this is a cause for concern Karen to find out if forum can be given/presented with details of the HCC and be given the chance to comment.

KF

ALL

KF

KF

3 Supported Lodging Presentation – Penny Diver, Stonham/tt/file_convert/5fcf84873125470574605a8f/document.doc 2

Penny Driver from Stonham gave a very interesting and detailed presentation on ways in which older people might be able to offer Supported Lodging for vulnerable young people. It can benefit both the younger person who might not be able to stay with their family or has left care as well as the older person who might enjoy the company and income.

The following questions were raised from the floor:

Do the landlords need to provide meals, washing and cleaning? The provision varies depending on the needs of the individual. Generally it begins as “full board provision” and gradually moves to a “self catering position”. This reflects the need of the young person to obtain life skills to enable them to live independently. This would include the young person over time assuming responsibility for their own washing and cleaning.

Are there “hotspots” within Hampshire? There is high demand for lodgings within, Basingstoke and Deane, Eastleigh, Havant, Fareham and Havant. It is very difficult to get landlords in Romsey and Winchester. It is not known why there is a reluctance within Romsey and Winchester to get involved in Supported Lodgings.

Penny finished by offering to attend local forum meetings to further raise the awareness of this subject. Penny further agreed to issue a information pack which she feels will address a number of concerns.Action: All agreed to take this information back to local forums ALL

4. Updates, Information & Action exchange from each local forum

Margaret (Meon Valley Active Retirement Association)Nothing to report.

Susan (ESPOPF)Circulated their latest newsletter.Have received an invite from Age UK to become a member.

Haydn (Andover and District Older Persons Forum)Rosemary Hamilton has resigned from their committee due to other commitments. Penny Watkins will stand in on a temporary basis until the AGM.Have received a response for DWP with respect to pensions (See attached). The forum intends to write a further letter after the Panorama TV programme “Rip off Britain – Railways” has aired (See attached). It

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was agreed that the letter would be circulated to HAOPF prior to despatch.National Pensioners Convention (NPC) – affiliation costs £15.00 per 50 members.Have not received a response to the attached to Dr Chris Gordon, Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust with respect to information on the Health Authorities contingency plans for 2011/12.

Jean (Havant 50+ Forum)Chris (Havant 50+ Forum)Forum mainly focusing on local issues.January meeting cancelled due to it being to close to the New Year bank holiday.Forum received a grant of £400 towards their Christmas events.Still having issues with cycling in the shopping centre. Police do not appear to want to get involved as it as seen as a low priority. Problem caused in the main by individuals who a general lack of respect for the law and other people.

Chris (Hartley Wintney OPF)Dorothy (Hartley Wintney OPF)1ST free film show attended by over 35 people was held last Sunday. This is a start of a series of film shows for the over 55’s.Hoping to start a weekly games club from March 2012.

Graham (Basingstoke and Deane Over 55s Forum)

Basingstoke Police have been stopping cyclists cycling in the pedestrian area and issuing warnings as appropriate.At the recent AGM all formal reports were approved. Graham was re-elected as Chairman and Gerald was re-elected as Secretary.The forum has issued information on the digital TV switchover.At a recent meeting the forum had a display from hand bell ringers.Graham listed a number of events and outings which will hopefully take place over the next 12 months. The new age Kurling events are proving to be very popular.Forum Committee due to visit the new Extra Care Scheme at Newman Court.Issue that the Forum are currently involved in or will be involved in are as follows:

Basingstoke & Deane BC plans to close a number of town centre toilets and encourage the public to use Community toilets i.e. shops.

The introduction of increased taxi fares at a time when the late night buses are being cut.

Cheque guarantee cards – next action. Changes to the Foundation Trust Board of Governors.


Derek (Winchester District Over 55s Forum/Hampshire Independent Equalities Forum)At recent meeting it was decided to create a sub group to look at transport areas in the area. The Transport sub group activities will include:

Meon Valley Active Retirement Association. Meeting with the local MP Steve Brine. Looking at bus stops – location and alternative locations, bus

routes and electronic signs.

Andree North (STOIC)Attendance at local forum meetings is low.Forum involved in a number of issues including, Dropped pavement survey, buses and parking issues at the Co-op. Karen has offered to meet and discuss ways of increasing attendance at meetings.

Frank (Aldershot Senior Citizen’s Forum)Forum involved with Council on the subject of “Blue badge” parking. At recent Council meeting it was decided to charge holders for parking and after campaigning by the forum the length of time allowed to park was increased.

5. Feedback from local priority decisions

Karen has not received feedback or comments from all forum members about what they consider to be priority decisions and areas for the forum to be involved in.

Chris suggested that rather than sub groups the forum might want to consider “Task and Finish Groups”. This was agreed. Task & Finish groups to be set up when suitable issues agreed. All attendees to bring forward issues to HAOPF for agreement so that a T&F group can be created.

Karen advised members that the forum has been approached to participate in the consultation for Transport – Dial a ride. The consultation period is from the 27th Feb to 24th Mar. The forum agreed to get involved and to disseminate questionnaires are requested.

ALL

ALL

6 Constitution – responsibility of membersFollowing a query fro Hampshire Library services, Karen asked members if they acknowledged their responsibility to share information from HAOPF with their local forums. And if so, whether the HAOPF constitution should include this responsibility. Members did not think that this level of detail should be in the Constitution and attendees should have discretion about taking back information from HAOPF to


their local forums. No amendment to the HAOPF Constitution.

7. Silver Dreams Bid

Karen reminded the forum that the Silver Dreams bid consisted of 2 strands, Community Transport and Mobility Hubs.

The bid is one of 80 that have passed the 1st stage and will now proceed to stage 2 which ends on the 29th Feb 12. The continued submission of this bid will involve some time commitment from Karen and this forum members and as such the decision to proceed should not be taken lightly. The forum agreed that the bid should proceed and that they should support Karen as much as possible.

Chris and Margaret asked if there would be much support from other departments within HCC, particularly Transport. Karen reiterated that the bid was submitted by of this forum and not HCC and the possibility of further support is limited.

8. Annual General Meeting

The 2012 annual General Meeting will take place on the 23rd March.

9 Points of Interest – Hitting the Cold Spots

HCC has been awarded £300k from the Department of Health. The funds will be used to issue 50k packs of 12 useful items aimed at the older person.

Karen asked if local forums would like to receive a number of packs for distribution in their area? It was agreed that local forums would get involved and distribute some packs. All to contact Karen with completed spreadsheet giving numbers of packs request.

All

10. Date of next meeting:- AGM23rd March 201110:00 – 12:30Denning Room, Podium Level, The Castle


DWP Department forWork and Pensions

Website: www.dwp.gov.uk E-mail Ministers at: [email protected] Correspondence Team, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London, SW1H 9NA

Mr Frank Rust Our Ref: TO/11/42530Hampshire Association of Older People's Forums 23 November 20119 Haig RoadAldershotHampshireGU124PS

Dear Mr Rust,

Thank you for your recent correspondence to the Prime Minister. GovernmentMinisters receive a large volume of correspondence and they are unable to respond personally on every occasion. As your correspondence falls within the remit of this Department, I have been asked to respond and I apologise for the delay in doing so.

The Government believes that it is right to use one appropriate index for uprating additional State Pensions, public and private pensions and social security benefits and that the CPI is a more appropriate measure of changes in the cost of living than the Retail Prices Index (RPI). It may help if I set out some of the considerations that were factors in their reasoning:

the CPI is the headline measure of inflation in Great Britain, forming the target for the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee;

the CPI excludes mortgage interest payments, which are not relevant to the majority of pensioners and benefit recipients: only 8 per cent of pensioners have a mortgage, and pensioners on low incomes and working age benefit recipients can get help with their housing costs;

the methodology used to calculate the CPI takes into account the fact that many people tend to trade down to cheaper goods when prices rise - the RPI does not. This contributes a significant portion of the gap between the CPI and the RPI and is known as the 'formula' or 'substitution' effect; and

in terms of population coverage the RPI excludes a significant group of pensioners (pensioner households who receive 75 per cent or more of their income from the State). The CPI includes those pensioners.

The intention of benefit and pension indexation is to protect their purchasing power, not to give the highest increase possible. Increases in line with the growth in the CPI maintain benefit and pension value, as well as putting the system on a moresustainable footing, allowing us to focus help where it is needed most.


mailto:[email protected]

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/

The Consumer Prices Advisory Committee report released on 3 November 2010 recommended that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) should consider including owner-occupiers' housing costs in the CPI. However, this work is still at an early stage. The report suggests a programme of work that will take two years to complete. If the ONS were to include owner-occupiers' housing costs in the CPI the Government would, of course, look seriously at whether this was then a better measure to use.It is important to see this change in the context of the more generous increases to the basic State Pension, which under a 'triple guarantee' announced by the Government will increase by the highest of the growth in average earnings, CPI or 2.5 per cent. In 2011/12 only an increase by the RPI will be given to the basic State Pension.

It is estimated that the average person retiring on a full basic State Pension in 2011 will receive £11,000 more in basic State Pension income over their retirement than they would have done under the old prices link. This commitment will help benefit existing and future pensioners. It will provide a more generous basic State Pension, giving a solid financial foundation from the State.

With regard to the Winter Fuel Payment, I would like to assure you that the Coalition Government will continue to protect key support for older people in recognition of the fact many have worked hard and saved all their lives, this includes: free eye tests; prescriptions; free television licences for the over 75s; free concessionary bus travel. The Government will also continue to pay the Winter Fuel Payment exactly as budgeted for by the previous Government. This means that the Winter Fuel Payment was paid at the higher rate for winter 2010/11 and will revert to the regular amount (that is, £200 for households with someone aged up to 79 years of age or £300 for households with someone aged 80 and over) from winter 2011/12.

The previous Government always made it clear that the additional amount of £50 or £100 was a temporary increase to the Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2010/11 only and no extra payment was estimated beyond 2010/11.

Targeted help for vulnerable groups is provided through Cold Weather Payments - which the Coalition Government has permanently increased from £8.50 a week to £25 a week. Cold Weather Payments provide real help to those most vulnerable to the cold; that is, disabled adults and children, the elderly and families with children under five who are in receipt of an income-related benefit. They are paid when the average temperature where a customer lives is 0°C or below for seven consecutive days. During winter 2010/11 over 17 million Cold Weather Payments were paid in Great Britain worth an estimated £430 million.

In addition, from winter 2011/12 some of the poorest pensioners would get direct assistance with their energy costs through a rebate off their electricity /tt/file_convert/5fcf84873125470574605a8f/document.doc 8

bills under the Warm Home Discount scheme. Rebates would be at least £120 in the first year.

The Government's wider package to tackle fuel poverty includes measures such as Warm Front and Carbon Emissions Reduction Target schemes. The Department for Energy and Climate Change is also developing policies so that from 2013, support for heating and insulation for the most vulnerable will be delivered through the Green Deal for energy efficiency and a new obligation on energy companies.

Yours sincerely

Goff DaftHead of the Correspondence Team


25 January 2012

Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MPMinister of State for TransportThe House of CommonsWestminsterLONDON SW1A 0AA

Dear Mrs Villiers

Members of the Hampshire Association of Older People’s Forums note in a letter to Sir George Young from Steve Webb MP dated 15 January 2011 he states that:-

“The CPI is the headline measure of inflation in Great Britain, formingthe target for the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee.”

The statement in this letter implies that the change from RPI to CPI for index linking pensions, a measure which will have the effect of reducing state pensions, pensions already paid below the official poverty level, is merely a move to rationalise or ‘tidy up’ the government’s inflation indexing policies.

However, when rail fare increases are authorised by the government, we note that the RPI is still being used. Indeed, not just the RPI but the RPI plus 1%. ‘Rail’ magazine issue 687 has pointed out that rail “Fares are at breaking point” and that “Europe’s most expensive fares rise even more”. This at a time when it has been reported that “A knighthood and £88m share of the ‘Stagecoach’ windfall made 2011 a vintage year for ‘Stagecoach’ founders Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag”.

It is becoming increasingly obvious to our members that society’s vulnerable groups are bearing an unjustifiable proportion of the coalition government’s cost-cutting measures.

We note that the word ‘fair’ is still being used to justify or excuse government cuts. I can assure you that such policies do not seem just and equitable from our position in society. The word ‘fair’ has all too obviously become yet another well-worn ‘govspeak euphemism’.

Perhaps you would be so kind as to provide a reason for an inconsistency which tends on the one hand to penalise the less well-off and on the other reward corporate greed.

Yours sincerely

HAYDN WATKINS MA(Oxon)ChairmanAndover & District Older People’s Forum/tt/file_convert/5fcf84873125470574605a8f/document.doc 12

Member of Hampshire Association of Older People’s Forums

cc Rt Hon Steve Webb MPRt Hon Sir GeorgeYoung MPNational Pensioner’s ConventionAge Concern, HampshireHampshire Association of Older People’s Forums‘The Guardian’


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