Minutes of the Meeting of the Well-Being of the Over-50S Topic Group Held on Tuesday 2

MINUTES of the meeting of the WELL-BEING OF THE OVER-50s TOPIC GROUP held on Tuesday 2 September 2008 at 9.30am

ATTENDANCE

Members of the Topic Group

K J Coleman (Vice-Chairman), R Clarkson, M Downing (Chairman), B Laventure (Watford Borough Council), S Legate (Hertsmere Borough Council), P A Ruffles,

D T F Scudder (Vice-Chairman)

Also in attendance

Heather Day, Director of Service, Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Hertsmere

Louise Harrington, Assistant Director, Human Resources

Karyn Jones, Healthy Communities & Older People’s Programme Manager

Mark Lobban, Assistant Director – Community Commissioning

Emma Lund, Democratic Services Officer

John Pryor, Head of Economic Strategy, Hertfordshire Prosperity Ltd

Jo Ransom, Director of Diversity and Social Responsibility, Exemplas Ltd

Natalie Rotherham, Scrutiny Officer

Martin Sipsma, Partnership Adviser, Learning & Skills Council

Gary Vaux, Head of the Money Advice Unit

Jeff Wren, Partnership Director, Learning & Skills Council

1. / MINUTES
1.1 / The minutes of the meeting of the Topic Group held on 25July 2008 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
2. / EMPLOYMENT ISSUES
2.1 / The Topic Group received information from John Pryor, Head of Economic Strategy at Hertfordshire Prosperity Ltd; Martin Sipsma, Partnership Adviser, and Jeff Wren, Partnership Director, of the Learning and Skills Council; Gary Vaux, Head of the Money Advice Unit; Jo Ransom, Director of Diversity and Social Responsibility, Exemplas Ltd; Heather Day, Director of Service, Citizens’ Advice Bureau; and Louise Harrington, Assistant Director of Human Resources at Hertfordshire County Council.
2.2 / John Pryor, Martin Sipsma, Jeff Wren and Gary Vaux spoke to the Group about over-50s employment and benefit issues, including East of England demographics, the Hertfordshire Investing in Communities programme, the Local Area Agreement, Job Centre Plus initiatives and Work Solutions, work of the Learning & Skills Council and Hertfordshire Careers Services, and the Hertfordshire Adult Learning Partnership. The following issues were raised during debate of the briefing paper by the Group:

• The number of people aged over-65 is set to increase by 63%, and will bring associated issues such as whether there will be enough people paying tax and national insurance to pay pensioners their old age pension, whether employers will employ older people and whether older workers will be able, or want, the jobs offered;
• The numbers of over-50s in qualification-led education is declining; there is a gender imbalance (more women aged over 50 in education than men), and a decline in the numbers of minority ethnic and learners with disabilities in this age group accessing education (data relates to LSC-funded programmes). This may have been brought about by a focus towards longer vocational learning courses and away from ‘leisure and pleasure’ courses and a fear of the costs involved in undertaking extended educational programmes;
• Hertfordshire generally has high employment rates, which works through to the older population: employment patterns amongst the over-50s replicate those of the County as a whole – where there are lower employment rates similarly there is lower employment of those over-50;
• Members were concerned at the disproportionate number of those unemployed Over-50s with mental health problems, and there is ‘hidden’ unemployment amongst those who are long-term claimants of incapacity benefit. There is a need for doctors involved to understand the needs and issues of those over-50 with mental health issues.
• The replacement for Incapacity Benefit (Employment and Support Allowance) is due for introduction in October 2008. This will introduce a mechanism by which around 80% of claimants who are currently deemed ‘unfit for work’ will be expected to undertake work-related activity such as re-training, condition management, etc. The ESA regime will increase both the support and sanctions on clients with mental health problems (many of whom are aged 50+), who make up around 50% of those who are unfit for work and claiming benefits;
• The geographic focus of Investing in Communities (as it is currently urban-focused) could be widened and the Group may seek to make recommendations around this, especially as the County Council is now the lead agency;
• ‘Train to Gain’ will put an emphasis on re-skilling and greater flexibility in accessing upskilling programmes;
• The Group noted that there are additional problems for migrant workers aged over-50. John Pryor has information relating to migrant workers’ projects undertaken in the Dacorum area and the Group agreed that it would be helpful to have this;
• Hertfordshire Adult Learning Partnership is currently conducting a round of focus groups to establish the voice of the learner, and it was suggested that the results of this could be monitored.

/ John Pryor
2.3 / Heather Day spoke to the Group about the role of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) in providing advice and guidance to those aged over-50. The Group heard that in Watford 19% of the CAB’s clients are aged 50-64, and the figures for Stevenage, East Herts and Hertsmere are 17%, 22% and 21% respectively. 9% of Watford clients are aged 65+, with the figures for Stevenage, East Herts and Hertsmere being 8%, 12% and 14% respectively. The main areas on which advice is sought are benefits and debt, followed by housing, and there is currently a waiting list for debt counsellor appointments.
The Group heard that HCC funds a county-wide project to provide a home-visiting service to those over 60 to provide advice on claiming benefits. There is also an outreach project in Stevenage (Bedwell) for the over-50s, which has had to be increased from 21 hours per week to 24 hours per week due to demand; it is hoped that this could ultimately be able to be rolled out across Hertfordshire, with the necessary additional funding.
Heather Day also spoke about the importance of volunteering in widening expectations, building self-esteem and providing a route back into employment for older people.
The Group heard that additional statistical information about the work of the Bureau can be provided if required.
2.4 / Jo Ransom spoke about the work of Exemplas, which jointly runs Business Link East of England and which has experience in delivering a range of projects including working with out-of-work over-50s in a holistic way to encourage a return to the workplace, providing links to funding sources, and providing tips on retaining and employing people over-50. The Group also heard about Exemplas’s work with Prime, which is helping those over 50 to set up in business. The Group heard that additional information on the work of Exemplas would be provided through John Pryor.
2.5 / Louise Harrington spoke about the initiatives which the County Council runs to support its employees over the age of 50 and to retain the skills and knowledge of this age group. The Group heard that the County Council is a large local employer, with approximately 11,000 staff (excluding schools staff), of whom a large proportion are aged over 50. Compulsory retirement age has recently been removed: employees can pay into the pension scheme until 70 and can work beyond that age if they wish. There are initiatives to support all workers to keep in good health, for example blood-pressure testing and preferential gym membership rates; there is also support for carers – for example carers’ conferences and the opportunity for additional leave. The County Council is working with the trade unions to increase access to training and is looking at how this may best be delivered. The County Council uses an annual staff survey to assess whether employees feel that what is provided is what is needed. The County Council also supports volunteering, and employees can be granted time off to pursue volunteering opportunities; the volunteering policy could be increased further if there were Member support for this.
3. / INFORMATION CIRCULATED FOLLOWING THE PREVIOUS MEETING
3.1 / The Group considered the information circulated following the previous meeting, and the following was noted:
3.1.1 / Briefing note about the work of Crossroads
The respite needs of carers to maintain their well-being was highlighted. The 9-point summary on page 6 provides a useful summary of the issues which affect carers in the 50+ age group.
3.1.2 / Health Improvement Strategy for Older People in Hertfordshire
The Group agreed that whilst this is a PCT document, there is a need to build in partnership working in some aspects, for example in relation to 1.4, 1.5 and 2.2. 5.3 highlights the information needs of older people/carers which has also been identified by the Group, and 5.7 reiterates the benefit of volunteering and befriending, as identified by the Group.
3.1.3 / Audit Commission Report: ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’
The Group endorsed the recommendations contained in the report, and noted that the checklist on page 50 outlines a number of key themes which have been addressed by the Group. It was agreed that all partners should be urged to ensure that action is taken against the recommendations, which could be facilitated by the use of local champions within districts. The Group endorsed the concept of age-proofing all services which are provided by the district councils/county council, and welcomed the example of the booklet produced by Dudley Council (p.49).
3.1.4 / All Party Parliamentary Local Government Group ‘Never Too Late for Living’
Recommendation 4 on page 2 and recommendation 10 on page 3 were particularly noted. The Group heard that recommendation 4 could be facilitated by joint appointments with the PCT to promote better commissioning and enable joint-ownership of services. It was also suggested that the appointment of Community Commissioning Officers, to implement cross-cutting strategies, would be beneficial.
4. / DRAFT FINAL REPORT
4.1 / The Topic Group received the first draft of its final report. As the full documentation considered by the Group is available through HertsDirect, the Group agreed that the final report should remain concise, with reference made to the location of complete minutes and information on the HertsDirect website.
4.2 / It was noted that the report will be updated with the additional information received and considered further at the next meeting. / Natalie Rotherham
4.3 / The Group agreed that, once finalised, the report should be sent to leaders of all the District Councils in Hertfordshire, with a request for information on how the proposals of the Audit Commission’s report are to be implemented at a district level.
The Group discussed the need for encouraging, and monitoring, all-partner involvement (including districts) in implementing strategies to support the well-being of the Over-50s; this issue to be revisited when considering the final recommendations of the Group. / Natalie Rotherham/
Emma Lund
Natalie Rotherham
4.4 / The Group debated the possibility of implementing a local newsletter for the over-fifties to provide a central source of information about all the services available in the area. This could also offer a means for suggestions about other types of services to be invited. The Group also considered whether the Library service could be involved as a means of providing information face-to-face.
5. / DATE OF NEXT MEETING
5.1 / Thursday 2 October 2008 at 9.30am, to consider the final draft report of the Topic Group. / All to note

Emma Lund

Topic Group Administrator

September 2008

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