Agenda item

Ms S Ramsden and Ms N Stokes from Age UK attended the meeting and gave a presentation on the operation and success of the North East Area Social Inclusion and Dementia Initiative over the last year.

The presentation gave details of the following:

·         Key milestones included:

o   An Annual Love Later Life event which had been undertaken as part of the Age Friendly Barnsley Festival

o   The Service Leaflet and Brand was now in place

o   There had been a targeted leaflet drop across the whole of the North East Area

o   There had been active communications within social and traditional media outlets including Facebook, Twitter and the Barnsley Chronicle

·         The initiative worked with, amongst others, the following:

o   Area Councils, Ward Alliances and the Area Team

o   Various Community Groups and the U3A

o   Community Facilities

o   Volunteers

o   Local Older people

o   Commissioned Services and particularly the CAB

o   Other third-party organisation

o   Funders

o   Local businesses

o   The Barnsley Older People Physical Activity Alliance (BOPPA)

o   Age friendly Barnsley Multi-Agency Groups

·         In relation to the delivery of services:

o   There had been101 one to one sessions held for 79 females and 22 males.

o   There had been 5,600 attendees at various activities throughout the year

o   There were 17 active volunteers with five new volunteers

o   A total of 1,079 hours had been delivered with at Social Value of around £13,000

o   Many shops and local businesses were now Age/Dementia friendly

o   At total of 11 events and one day out had been organised

·         Work of the Information and Advice Service - £97,000 Benefit Gains had been obtained for the North East Ward Area – this had been achieved through the support of one day per week of specialist support time

o   Full support was provided for Pension age persons only

o   Support had included, amongst other things, for benefit checks, housing advice, care packages, blue badge support and the provision of support for will writing

·         BOPPAA – aimed to provide activities aimed at preventing hospital admissions.  Events had included Healthy Bones, Tai Chi, Yoga, Walking Groups and Bowls.  Arising out of this, reference was made to the Digital Project, its aims and objectives and the support provided

·         Events and Celebrations had included Winter Wellbeing, Jubilee Parties, Music in Care Homes, Age Friendly events, a Seaside trip and sloppy slippers, Love Later Life events together with a number of seasonal events

·         Volunteers – five new volunteers had been recruited and a total of 17 volunteers were now available. As mentioned previously, the Volunteer Hours (1079) had achieved an equivalent Social Value of around £13,000.  New volunteer roles had been created, recruitment was being undertaken and a new training event was being prepared

·         Key Challenges included transport and mobility issues, volunteer recruitment and retention, the prioritisation of available resources and reaching the most vulnerable and unnoticed

·         Next steps and areas of focus included training and development for TARA, Covid recovery for many older people, work to identify and support the hard to reach, Volunteer recruitment events, Digital inclusion, Age Friendly Barnsley (including Take a Seat), work with Dementia Friendly Groups, Winter Warmer events, Love Later Life events, Social inclusion events and events for Halloween and Christmas as well as other numerous events within each ward

Arising out of the above, reference was then made to the following:

·         The dates for events planned would be provided for all Members of the Area Council.  Information was also provided on the website and would be circulated round all networks and groups in the area

·         There was a discussion of the way in which demand for services could be met.  Particular reference was made to the way in which provision was adapted to meet changing demands as well as the consultation held with service users and potential users to ensure that needs were catered for where possible

·         It was noted that a Love Later Life event was to be held on Monday in the North East Ward and a group was to start in the Dog Hill area of Royston on the 1^st October.  Details would be provided to the Area Council Manager so that appropriate contact could be made

·         There was a discussion of the potential implications of the cost-of-living crisis and arising out of this information was provided about the services available, how these were accessed and provided and of how people could be appropriately signposted

·         In response to specific questioning, information was provided about the ways in which service delivery had changed since the ending of the lockdowns due to the Covid pandemic

RESOLVED that Ms Ramsden and Ms Stokes be thanked for their presentation, for attending the meeting and for answering Members questions.