Councillor Sinclair said the request from the Committee for this report was timely and thanked Dave Growcott for his work on it. The balance of old and younger people in the City was atypical because of the size of the student population but the older population was both significant and growing. While the City Council had a role in making provision for older people it was by no means the only provider and, indeed, the burden of responsibility fell elsewhere.

In an extensive discussion the following points emerged.

The report provided a useful account of what was available via the City but was relatively silent on the question of how to engage older people in the first place.

Social prescribing by GPs and other health professionals was a valuable means of supporting older people. The City’s Community Centres had the potential to play a more significant role through, for example, the promotion of activities or use by some groups which might otherwise not engage. This was potentially of greatest significance to some BAME groups and women in particular.

In relation to provision for the BAME community, language and cultural barriers often discouraged engagement with older members of the community. Outreach activities might mitigate this to some extent.

The Council no longer had an officer with dedicated responsibility for older people which was seen as very regrettable. The designation of an officer as a ‘champion’ might help but there was a view that it was necessary to give dedicated responsibility to an officer in order to make a real difference. Thought might be given to a joint County/City Council post. 

Many older people lived alone in houses with spare rooms. There was enthusiasm for exploring the possibility of facilitating means by which those rooms could be used by younger people. As well as addressing, in some small measure, the housing shortage, it would provide companionship for older people. Councillor Sinclair said that this had been looked at before (and some funding made available to assist) but the project had not gained much traction at that time. It was recognised that this was a model which required careful risk assessments and capacity to deliver; the latter was lacking at the moment. It was agreed that it would be helpful to hear from a representative from Age UK at a future meeting about this matter.

It was noted with regret that society was generally less protective towards older people than it had been in the past (and as it remained in some communities and some other parts of the world). Social isolation was “corrosive.” There was universal agreement that there was a shared and collective community  responsibility for the welfare of older people. One of the key means of engaging with older people was through Councillors’ day to day constituency work.  The may be merit in a ‘reach out’ day or week for older  people,  something with would be enhanced with the support of Parish Councils, Community Centres and Food Banks.

Dave Growcott  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59