Older People’s Champion: what’s in a name?

Guest blog by Cllr Elaine Thornton-Nicol, Older People’s Champion, Scottish Borders Council

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When I was elected as a Councillor in 2017, I had been employed for 16 years in the voluntary sector, the last four specifically managing services aimed at improving the lives of older people, so I suppose I was the best choice when Scottish Borders Council was looking for nominations for the Older People’s Champion.

This role is ambassadorial, authority-wide, non-political and an honour.

There is no budget line attached to this role so there is no cost to the council.

When I agreed to the nomination, I asked for a role descriptor, because there was no point in me bumbling about the Borders hoping I am doing what is expected of me.  Bizarrely enough, there wasn’t one, but one was provided very quickly.

At this point, please remember I was newly elected and had little knowledge of the machinations of my own local authority, let alone the others.  I assumed that every council had an Older People’s Champion.

I thought I would be able to join the network of thirty-one other champions, some of whom would be in their second term, who would be able to share their knowledge and offer opportunities to take their learning to the Scottish Borders.

Unfortunately, this is not the case.  There are some who have the role but the councillor with the title is not proactive.  Some authorities claim to have an Older People’s Officer, but no description of what they actually do.  Others again have nothing and no one specifically tasked with ensuring that the voices of Older People are heard at every level.  I have to thank Simon Ritchie of Age Scotland and Diana Findley of the Scottish Older People’s Assembly for supporting me on this journey of discovery.

I see my role firstly as a listening one.  The best people to shape and inform Older People’s services are the older people who will use them.  Their voice must be heard.

I work with officers across the council to feedback on various issues and concerns that older people have raised. And I must say they are listening, supporting and, where possible, acting.

There is an aspect of this role that involves sitting in meetings.  It could be anything from listening to third and voluntary sector organisations as they try to learn to work more closely, commenting on proposed services, helping others to understand the need to find out what older people need, want, miss and, let’s be very truthful – don’t like.

I’ve been involved in a range of activities in my role so far. These include, among many others:

• Exploring the creation of an Older People’s Directory for the Borders
• Organising dementia training for every elected member of the council
• A seat on the Borders Community Transport Service Board
• Supporting the council on campaigns aimed at older people, including Flu Vaccine uptake

I am the face of the Council to Older People, and I am proud of that.  I want to be the best voice I can be for them.

At every Council meeting, my fellow councillors are used to me referencing an older person in my speeches.  I want us to keep our Older People at the forefront of our minds when discussing and debating services.

My role also entails supporting the Council on campaigns relating to Older People – recently I had my photo taken receiving my flu injection to encourage the uptake and thus hopefully prevent illness

If there was a network of thirty-two elected members who were proactive Older People’s Champions for their local authority, listening to our Older People, feeding through to Councils and the Minister for Older People and Equalities, imagine the knowledge and information base we would have.  How much faster we could respond.

So here is my challenge to everyone in Scotland –

• Contact your local authority
• Ask if they have and Older People’s Champion
• Ask to meet with appropriate officers if they have no OPC and share the role descriptor I use
• Encourage them to use this opportunity to put Older People at the heart of what they do
• Push them towards that network that can share skills, knowledge and learning.

This is the chance to take the first step on what I know will not be a short journey – change is not easy for any of us.

And lastly, please remember, an Older People’s Champion is not necessarily an Older Person – they could be as young as me!

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Age Scotland is calling on every Scottish Local Authority to appoint an Older People’s Champion. For more information, please contact the Age Scotland Policy & Communications team on 0300 323 2400 or email communications@agescotland.org.uk.

 

Consultation – what’s the point?

Age Scotland’s Policy Engagement and Campaigns Officer, Simon Ritchie, spent 2018 consulting older people in Scotland on transport. He reports here on his findings.

“Is this actually going to change anything?”

As I toured Scotland asking older people for their views on transport, this question came up a lot. My task was to work with Transport Scotland, the transport arm of the Scottish Government, to make sure that older peoples’ interests were accounted for in the new National Transport Strategy (NTS).

Simon Ritchie – Age Scotland’s Policy Engagement and Campaigns Officer

People had taken part in consultations before, they said, and it never seemed to change anything. However, as the consultation process went on, and after some reflection, I know the answer: yes, this will change things for the better. Let me explain.

Scotland’s population is ageing. The number of people aged 75+ is set to double in the next two decades. That’s great news – people are living longer, healthier lives – but as the demographics of our society changes, so too must our infrastructure if it is to remain fit for purpose. If the transport system doesn’t work for older people, it doesn’t work. Full stop.

So what works, and what needs to change?

Through a series of twenty transport workshops in every corner of Scotland, I and the civil servants I brought with me learned a great deal. Some findings were not surprising:

• 2/3 of older people say they use public buses frequently
• Reliance on cars is more prevalent in rural areas
• The top three reasons for travelling are shopping, socialising and attending medical appointments.

Amongst the more striking findings were that

• 1/3 of older people use public transport to commute to voluntary work – offering their valuable time, skills and experience to society.
• 1/3 of older people say they’ve experienced difficulty getting to a medical appointment because of transport problems.
• 1/2 say they’d use public transport more if services ran more frequently, and 1/2 of those living in rural areas say they’d take the bus if services ran later in the evening. Indeed, several older people who cannot drive said they felt under curfew in the evenings due to having no transport.

We now have a much better idea of what older people think about transport, and what they think should change. So how will this information and insight be used?

Firstly – all our findings have been passed on to Transport Scotland in full. Already, many of the policy proposals we have put forward have been adopted into the draft NTS. From late 2019, the NTS will be the document that all levels of government should refer to whenever they make a transport-related decision. Age Scotland will hold them to it.

Secondly – we are using our findings to shape our position on the Scottish Government’s new Transport Bill, which gives Councils more power to improve local bus services. So there is a broader use for this information.

And finally – consultation matters because older people’s involvement in policy development keeps government on its toes and older people’s interests on the agenda.

A huge ‘thank you’ to all who took part in the 2018 Age Scotland transport workshops around the country. It’s been worthwhile and we know that the Scottish Government is listening and acting. If Age Scotland is a vehicle for change, it’s older people who are in the driving seat.

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For more information please visit the Age Scotland website or contact Simon Ritchie – Policy Engagement & Campaigns Officer at Age Scotland – at simon.ritchie@agescotland.org.uk or on 0131 668 8047

A New Future for Social Security – Age Scotland submission

Age Scotland has put forward an wide-ranging submission to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the future for social security in Scotland.

The charity endorses the basic principle that social security should be seen as an investment in the people of Scotland and in strengthening our social fabric.  We propose models which should exhibit trust in people and respect for their dignity.

We advocate an end to rules which are probably discriminatory based on age – such as the lack of a mobility component for attendance allowance, unlike other disability benefits – and we support the principle that universal winter fuel payments are the most effective means of reaching those most in need of support.

The submission is extensive, comprising some 56 pages, although the consultation paper was over 140 pages long and posed over 170 questions.  It is the most detailed policy submission which the charity or its predecessors have ever compiled.

The submission gives the charity’s perspective on a wide range of specific benefits affecting older people which are being devolved (including disability and carer’s benefits, funeral payments, and winter fuel payments).

It also deals with a series of administrative matters on how eligibility should be worked out, how benefits should be paid, and the overarching principles and intended outcomes which should be a focus for the new system.

Another important aspect is ensuring that the new devolved system works well with the other benefits which will remain reserved to the UK Parliament and Government, and administered by the DWP, JobCentres and the Pension Service.  Clearly it is important for there to be no disruption to payments on which vulnerable people depend, either as the responsibility is transferred or as changes the Scottish Government intends to make are implemented.

The response was informed by the views and experiences of older people themselves, which we gathered at eight distinct consultation events around the country, and also the expertise of our policy staff and helpline advisors, who regularly support older people with benefits concerns and queries.  We aim to use this invaluable information in our further discussions with Government Ministers and officials as the policies take shape and legislation is prepared to give effect to them.

Download our submission

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Please feel free to share any views you have by emailing policycomms@agescotland.org.uk

Quality of Life on the Isle of Shapinsay

Toni Giugliano, Age Scotland’s Policy Engagement & Campaign Officer, recently headed to Orkney as part of his work around quality of life in later life in partnership with Stirling University. 

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Earlier this month the Quality of Life Project took me to Shapinsay in Orkney. It was a unique opportunity to gather the views of older people about what makes a good life in later years in a rural and remote part of the country.

I was humbled by the extremely warm welcome I received by the organisers and participants. I was picked up from the ferry terminal in the community electric car and whisked along to the “Boathouse” – a fantastic community space where we were protected from the ultra-strong winds (which locals told me were not, in fact, that strong at all!).

In total, eight residents took part in the discussions, which explored several themes, including health and wellbeing, the importance of a close-knit community, relationships, care, transport, personal independence and the role of older people in society.

Below are some statements that came out of the discussions:

“Befriending services are a lifeline – even if you have a close family, often you feel like you don’t want to impose on them. You want to be independent, and a befriender won’t pass judgement.”

“Pass times are so important once you reach a certain age – they give you a focus, a purpose in life, a reason to be on this world.”

“As you become older, you enter a different category. You are likely to become slightly invisible.”

“Many people who once had a social status during their working life tend to lose it once they reach a certain age.”

“Older people still have a lot to contribute to society.”

“There should be incentives for volunteers to take on home care visits and spend some time chatting to people. The home visits you get only last 15 minutes – it’s just not enough. You want to get to know a person and have a chat with them. With the current system they just don’t have enough time to do that.”

“The cost of the ferry is too much; it’s not affordable. Other islands (local authorities) get a better deal”.

“We’ve had to fight hard on this island for the services we have. We need to stay on the ball and continue to do that if we want to keep them.”

It was particularly interesting to hear about the work of the Shapinsay Development Trust and the activities and services it runs to improve the lives of people on the island, including social activities to combat loneliness and isolation. The Sew Shapinsay project, for example, is a great social activity bringing many people together.

The Shapinsay focus group discussion, like all other focus groups that have taken place across the country, will soon be analysed by our researcher teams (who themselves are older people). The project seeks to: (i) explore what older people believe the essence of a good life is; and (ii) lobby decision makers to improve policies that support older people as they age.

Whilst in Orkney I took the opportunity to visit the Age Scotland office in Kirkwall to discuss the Scottish Government’s Social Security Consultation and how the proposed changes are likely to impact older people. We received a number of responses which helped shape our submission. For more information on this, see the relevant pages of our website.

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The Quality of Life Project is funded by the Life Changes Trust. To find out more about the project, visit our website.

EU Referendum: one week to go

As we approach the European Referendum, Age Scotland’s Chief Executive Brian Sloan encourages everyone to use their vote.

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With only a week until the European Referendum, it is vital that Scotland’s older people have their say on this historic decision for the future of our country. Age Scotland is very conscious that there is a diverse range of views on our future in Europe among older people in Scotland.  That is why we feel it is very important we as a Charity take a neutral position on the referendum.  However while we will not support either of the campaigns in the referendum or encourage older people to vote for a specific position, we certainly do encourage older people to use their vote.

Brian Sloan – Age Scotland’s Chief Executive

There can be no doubt that big issues affecting older people have been placed at the heart of the referendum debate by both campaigns – the future of our pensions, our public services and our NHS.  It is also true that many people who are weighing up how they will vote on the 23^rd feel they would still like more information from the two campaigns to help them come to a decision.

As Scotland’s charity for older people, we are keen that Age Scotland does what we can to help encourage debate on these important issues and ensure people have they information they need to come to an informed view.  That is why we invited leading figures from both campaigns to write articles for our Advantage magazine to explain how they have come to their view.  Professor Sir Harry Burns, a former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, writes on behalf of Scotland Stronger in Europe, and Tom Harris, a former MP, is now Director of Scottish Vote Leave and has outlined that campaign’s position.

You can view the articles here on pages 14-15 and I am sure you will find them interesting and informative. How you will vote in the referendum is up to you, but given this is a big decision for Scotland’s older people I do encourage you to use your vote.

From secondary school to corridors of power – via volunteering

James Dalgleish, 18, came to Age Scotland as a volunteer in February 2014 to work in the Policy and Communications department. He’s been helping Policy Engagement Officer, Hannah Lister with event planning, as well as providing administrative support to the policy and communications team.

The main part of James’ work has focused around the Age Scotland Awards ceremony which will take place at the Scottish Parliament in October. James co-ordinated the mail-out of nomination packs to 900 member groups, and the email to all the local authorities in Scotland, MPs and MSPs.

Hannah says: “James first started in a volunteering capacity with me in my previous job so when an opportunity arose for a volunteer to help with the Age Scotland Awards and James applied, I knew he would be the ideal person to help us.

“James is conscientious and works well with the rest of the team. He has completely blossomed in the time I have known him into a professional young man and he is providing very valuable support to our policy and communications team. He also makes a great cuppa! I hope he’s learning a lot from his time here with us!”

James showed an understanding of the importance of doing voluntary work when he was only 15. In his 3^rd year at Broughton High School, he got involved with the Scottish Youth Parliament and took on his first volunteering role. He worked as a parliamentary assistant in the Scottish Parliament, carried out research, saw committees at work and sat in on First Minister’s Questions.

“I really enjoyed the experience so I went on to help out in my local MSP’s office in January 2012 and then I managed to get an internship between Feb and August 2013 as a case worker in an MP’s office. That’s such an interesting job, such an eye-opener into the way the world works because people turn up with every sort of issue at their MP’s office. I got the chance to help people – that’s what I enjoy the most.

“I’ve now got a paid part-time position working with an MP but I still come into Age Scotland to help with the co-ordination of the Awards celebrations and like doing both – helping people to love later life and working with politicians,” says James.

Find out more about volunteering opportunities with Age Scotland and the Silver Line Scotland.

There is still time to nominate a volunteer or volunteer group for the 2014 Age Scotland Awards

Pensions and Independence

We recently held an debate on the Scottish Referendum in Glasgow and one on the main concerns arising was that of pensions after independence…

Pensions are an extremely important issue for older people, but they are also a highly complex area. When added to the inherent uncertainty and partiality which pervades the independence debate, it’s not surprising that older people may struggle to get the grasp they want on what independence might mean for them.

The Scottish Government’s own white paper on pensions and independence published last September, and further details appeared in the referendum white paper Scotland’s Future published in November. Age Scotland wrote about this last year.

The Scotland Office and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published the latest in the UK Government’s Scotland Analysis series on Thursday 24 April. It relies on an analysis of current pensions and benefits spending both in Scotland and across the UK, and long-term projections of how these might change in future based on demographic trends. It also factors in the proposed changes which the Scottish Government wants to make to pensions and working-age benefits if there is a Yes vote in September.

The UK Government’s analysis is that Scotland already gains £60 more per head of population per year in welfare spending than the rest of the UK, and that an independent Scotland would face higher pension costs per head of population – up to £450 extra per person per year. Despite Scotland’s lower life expectancy – which makes pensions more affordable if people die earlier – they claim that Scotland’s overall spend on welfare would cost it an extra £1.4 billion per year by 2035 – 8% more than is currently spent here.

There would also be costs in setting up and maintaining the infrastructure needed to run an independent Scotland’s own social security system. An independent Scotland might not automatically gain all of the UK Government’s assets in Scotland – such as the network of JobCentres – or take on public pensions staff working in Glasgow and Dundee. And the UK-wide IT system is based on consistent benefit structures, payment levels and eligibility tests. If an independent Scotland wanted to change these – and the Scottish Government certainly does – then there could be substantial set-up costs which Scotland would have to find.

The UK Government claims the Scottish Government should tell people how these costs would be afforded. The Scottish Government rejects the analysis as either incorrect or exaggerated.

Older people simply want to know what independence might mean for their standard of living, so it can inform their vote. So the continual arguing over the facts can be both frustrating and confusing. Age Scotland will continue to try to help to inform the debate, and we will be publishing responses from the two campaigns to questions we posed them in the next issue of Advantage magazine and on our website, www.agescotland.org.uk. But with certainty an unlikely prospect, older voters might be left wondering which version of events seems more likely and whom they are more likely to trust.

 

Hands off universal pensioner benefits

By Agnes McGroarty from the Scottish Seniors Alliance

‘Hands Off’ is the clear message coming from older people across Scotland, as a new UK wide campaign was launched last month defending the need for universal pensioner benefits.

Agnes McGroarty

The Hands Off campaign, which has already been backed by some of the most influential older people’s organisations in the UK, aims to safeguard benefits such as the winter fuel payment, bus pass, free prescriptions and TV licences after the 2015 general election.

Following comments made by the main political parties at Westminster indicating these benefits may be under threat, this campaign will emphasise their importance in achieving a decent standard of living for millions of pensioners across the UK, whilst also highlighting the costs and barriers associated with means-testing such benefits.

I would encourage people of all ages to sign the online e-petition and to email their local MP via the campaign website at www.handsoff.org.uk. If the e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons.

Clearly, a debate would raise the profile of this issue with the current coalition government and amongst other UK political parties who may be in power following the 2015 general election. The real reason why pensioners need additional benefits such as the winter fuel allowance and the free bus pass is because our state pension is so poor. Yet despite this, every year older people add an extra £40bn to the economy in taxes, volunteering and unpaid caring. Universal benefits help to keep people active, independent, warm in their homes, healthy and involved in their communities. Universal benefits need to be defended not only for today’s pensioners, but for the pensioners of tomorrow as well.

During the last year, pensioners have felt under constant attack. The myth that older people have escaped any austerity measures is totally groundless, and we will fight to ensure there are no further cuts or means testing of vital benefits such as the winter fuel payment, bus pass, free prescriptions or TV licences. We call on every individual, regardless of age, to support us in our campaign to ensure these benefits are maintained for pensioners now and in the years to come.

We must make our voice heard now! Millionaire pensioners have been used as justification for further cuts or means-testing, but this campaign represents the views of real pensioners who are already struggling to make ends meet.

The Hands Off campaign is being officially backed by the Scottish Seniors Alliance, the National Pensioners’ Convention, Age Sector Platform in Northern Ireland and the Welsh Senate of Older People. For more information on the campaign, and to sign the e-petition, please visit www.handsoff.org.uk.

This was taken from our Magazine Advantage. Soap Box columns do not necessarily reflect Age Scotland’s views or policies. To submit an article call Advantage on 0845 833 0200 or email advantage@agescotland.org.uk.

Time for reshaping care to shape up

In the light of a report, published today, on Government plans to shift older people’s health and social care more from hospitals into communities, Age Scotland Chief Executive Brian Sloan addresses the challenges and likely solutions.

Our ageing population is a consequence of success. We have a national ambition that people should lead longer, healthier lives, so we should first and foremost celebrate that we are achieving this. Many people still have fulfilling, rewarding and healthy lives into their 70s, 80s and beyond.

It’s also a myth that most older people need expensive care; in fact, the reverse is true: most older people do not. Only 9 per cent of over-65s are in long-term residential care or receive formal care at home; even among over-85s, this figure rises to just over a third (although many more people receive informal support from relatives).

Nonetheless, our changing demographics will have profound consequences. The ways in which our society pays for retirement, and the houses in which older people live, will have to adapt. Similarly, we cannot assume that traditional models of planning and delivering health and social care will continue to work. That’s what the Reshaping Care for Older People programme is supposed to be about. It aims to shift the balance of care, with more support delivered in homes and in communities than in hospitals. If we do this, we will also make it more likely that older people will remain physically active and socially connected, and achieve better health outcomes. We will also save public money, as resources can be diverted from expensive and reactive hospital treatment to more proactive and cost-effective care within communities.

The ambition is easy to state, but complex to achieve. NHS boards, local authorities and health and social care partnerships need to develop and implement change, at the same time as meeting current demands. It is always challenging to make direct links between preventative support and savings, many of which will not be seen until much later. The health service and councils currently work to different aims and standards; greater integration should help here, but there still needs to be a profound shift in culture, and a relentless focus on older people’s rights and better outcomes over the mechanics of getting things done.

Today, the public scrutiny body Audit Scotland has published a report which shows how much more needs to be achieved.

• Because real change will involve many different people and organisations, there needs to be a firm commitment and strong leadership, both nationally and locally, to drive progress. The NHS and local councils need to develop strategic plans which promote consistency and reduce unnecessary variation.
• We need to be more open to innovative and collaborative solutions: GPs should be more open to social prescribing or community referrals; care managers and care providers need to think about creative ways to address and manage the social effects of long-term health conditions; there should be an established process to decide whether someone really needs to be admitted to hospital or if community or home-based support can be arranged.
• The report also notes that, although there are examples of good practice in linking up care and treatment towards more preventative and anticipatory approaches, there is no nationwide monitoring system to track progress or help to determine what is working and could be scaled-up and extended. The Scottish Government has invested £300 million over four years through the Change Fund to help push this, which has made different organisations develop some joint objectives, but investment decisions seem unsystematic and disconnected and projects are often not evidence-based. A central focus on the outcomes achieved locally would be a vital step, especially as joint strategic commissioning plans are being developed locally over the next year.

The reshaping care programme is intended to last until 2021, so there is time to reflect on the work, much of it good, which has already been done. But a protracted, piecemeal approach won’t work for such a mammoth change, on which so many of the older people of tomorrow will depend.

How much weight to give to an older person’s word?

The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill currently before the Scottish Parliament seeks to abolish the requirement, known as corroboration, that there must always be two separate sources of evidence before a case can proceed to trial.  Derek Young weighs up the potential pros and cons for older people.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill’s ambition of removing the requirement for corroboration, which is rare around the world, has stimulated much heated debate. Some MSPs, and most judges and lawyers are opposed, fearing that its abolition will lead to miscarriages of justice. Yet the move is supported by the police and some groups representing victims of crime. So where does Age Scotland stand?

In Scots law, corroboration is the principle that two distinct sources of evidence are needed for all the key elements of a criminal offence before charges are brought and a case proceeds to trial. The principle has been part of Scots criminal law and procedure since time immemorial, and first appears in the Bible. The philosopher and legal scholar, David Hume, wrote: “our law is averse to rely on [a witness’s] single word, in any inquiry which may affect the person, liberty, or fame of his neighbour.” Equally, if an older person is wrongly accused of a crime, s/he may be glad of the corroboration rule so that the evidence of a single witness against them would not be enough to allow a conviction.

But some are not convinced of its value. The police have long-favoured abolishing it. They claim it uses up police resources and denies justice in cases where there is only one witness, and might contribute to under-reporting of crimes which are unlikely to be proved. They also say that this often happens where crimes against an individual are committed in private – such as sexual offences and child abuse.

The law on elder abuse was updated in 2007, following much campaigning by Age Scotland’s predecessor charities. But this aspect of the law was not changed. Elder abuse can take place behind closed doors, and sometimes there may be little or no supporting evidence – especially if it involves ‘hidden harms’ such as mental or emotional abuse, making threats, or withholding food or medicine. Changing the corroboration rule for these cases might help to make prosecutions possible.

However, these prosecutions would rely more than ever on the witness testimony of an older person who may have been abused. In any trial where a conviction depends this, it is likely to be in the accused’s interest to challenge the witness’s credibility or reliability. Judges or juries who see and hear frail or vulnerable witnesses, who may have difficulties hearing, or cannot easily follow complex questions put to them in court, might also doubt the witness’s memory about crucial details because of stereotypes about older people’s abilities. Prosecutors might also be reluctant to bring charges in the first place if they think there’s a real risk that an abused older person could be undermined as a witness.

We think prosecutors and judges should be aware of these risks and be prepared to take appropriate action. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service produced a welcome new guide for prosecutors on these issues last year. It’s also important that we ensure that courtrooms are not intimidating places for older victims of crime, and judges and juries should also be aware of the risks that they might be susceptible to these stereotypes.

Derek Young is Age Scotland’s Policy Officer