Older people

I sometimes hear concerns that the Labour Government and the City Council are not doing enough for pensioners. Pensioners of course benefit from our general policies of a stable and steadily growing economy, more money for the National Health Service and more Police officers.  And another presentation provides the most important achievements.  This expands on thta presentation. 

What is Labour doing for… older people?

Labour believes that all older people should have a fulfilling and active life with dignity and security in retirement. That’s why we’re ensuring that older people share in the country’s rising prosperity and have the opportunity to use their knowledge, experience and talents – through work, volunteering or involvement in community projects – to the benefit of themselves and their communities.

Key points

The Pension Credit has enabled us to cut absolute pensioner poverty by two-thirds and, for the first time, rewards those who have saved for retirement.

We’ve introduced a raft of measures to benefit all pensioners and ensure their security in retirement including the Winter Fuel Payment and an extra £200 for the pensioners to help with their council tax.

We’re working to ensure pension promises are honoured through the new Pension Protection Fund.

Labour’s record investment in public services means older people, who are often regular users of the health service, are seeing the impact through improved facilities and provision, such as free eye tests.

Our approach

Labour wants all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement. We are committed to tackling pensioner poverty and ensuring pensioners share in the country’s rising prosperity.

Our first priority was to boost in the incomes of the poorest pensioners, and now they are guaranteed £109.45 per week (£167.05 for couples) through the Pension Credit. The next step is to address those pensioners who’ve managed to save something for their retirement but who – until now – have found that it is knocked straight off their benefit entitlement, leaving them no better off than those who have not saved at all. The Pension Credit also rewards pensioners aged 65 or over who have saved for their retirement, ending the unfair, absolute penalty on savings that removed incentives to save.

Occupational pensions have been a strength of the British system and we are ensuring that continues. Where pensions have been promised by employers, we are making sure the promise is honoured as well as making it easier for firms to run schemes.

What has been achieved

Dignity in retirement for every pensioner: The basic state pension is £82.05 for singles and £131.20 for couples (up from £62.45 and £99.80 when Labour came to power). The Winter Fuel Payment is paid at £200 and those over 80 receive an extra £100. We have introduced free TV licenses for over 75s, free eye tests and reduced the Tories’ VAT on fuel from 8 per cent to 5 per cent. The new £100 payment for households with over 70s will help those on a fixed income cope with increased household bills, including council tax.

Help for the poorest pensioners and those who have saved: 3.2 million pensioners are seeing their household incomes boosted by over £40 a week through the Pension Credit. As a result of our reforms, compared to 1997 pensioner households will be on average £1,350 a year better off in real terms, with the poorest third of pensioner households £1,750 a year better off.

A modern pension service: The Pension Service is a new organisation dedicated to the needs of pensioners. It will pay the basic state pension and the new Pension Credit and will have local staff on the ground helping and explaining services to pensioners.

Older people and employment: The New Deal 50+ is helping older people who want to work find a job paying a decent wage – so far it has helped over 100,000 people find work. We are also outlawing discrimination in employment and vocational training on the grounds of age.

What we’re committed to:

Strengthening security in retirement: We are introducing the Pension Protection Fund, supported by a Pensions Regulator, to end the scandal of workers being denied a pension they have built up. It will step in and pay out pensions when employers go bust, guaranteeing 100 per cent for pensioners and 90 per cent for working-age members. We’re also introducing a £400 million financial assistance package to help workers who’ve already lost out.

Maintaining the state pension age: We will keep the state pension age at 65. People must have the right to work longer, but this should be voluntary. However, we are improving rewards for people who choose to defer taking their State Pension. For example, someone deferring until 70 can then get a basic state pension of around £120 a week or a lump sum of between £25,000 and £30,000.

More community-based services: Over the next three years we will recruit 3,000 new community matrons offering NHS patients tailor-made services suited to their individual needs – benefiting people with long-term medical conditions such as asthma, arthritis or diabetes. And a new two-year £80 million prevention fund will enable councils to install smart alarm technology in the houses of vulnerable older people, helping to keep up to 160,000 older people healthy, safe and independent in their own homes.

The Tory threat

The Tories only chose to increase the basic pension once in 18 years - and only then to compensate for imposing VAT on fuel - leaving 2.7 million pensioners in poverty;

The Tories have opposed every measure Labour has taken to improve pensioner prosperity. They fought against the Winter Fuel Payment, the Minimum Income Guarantee, free TV licences for the over 75s and the Pension Credit;

The Tory commitment to let the Pension Credit ‘wither on the vine’ would penalise Britain’s poorest pensioners;

The Tories are committed to scrapping the Second State Pension, depriving 20 million people the chance to get a decent second pension;

They even opposed the Pensions Bill, and so would deny workers pension protection if their company goes bust.

Some questions the Tories must answer on pensions and pensioner policies

• How do you expect pensioners to believe your pledge to increase the basic state pension, when you only did that once during 18 years in office – and then only to compensate for imposing VAT on fuel?

• Do you accept that the income of the poorest pensioners, as a percentage of average earnings, will fall under your proposals?

• Do you stand by what Michael Howard recently said about Tory pensions plans, namely that, “Those who are entitled to the Pension Credit and do claim…will not be better off”?

• Why did you oppose the Winter Fuel Payment and free TV licences, calling them ‘patronising and intrusive’?

• Do you accept that your plans to scrap the State Second Pension will hit 18 million lower earners, carers and the disabled people, denying them the chance to build up a decent second pension for the first time?

Further Information

Call 0800 99 1234 for information on applying for the Pension Credit or visit www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/pensioncredit

www.dwp.gov.uk - Further information on pension policies including key speeches by Ministers and policy documents

www.thepensionservice.gov.uk - Detailed information for pensioners about everything they are entitled to

www.pensionguide.gov.uk - Detailed information about pensions

[Some details from 2005-03-18; some updated 2006-03-05]

Details on Nottingham

More for pensioners

In Nottingham, the winter fuel allowance warmed the homes of 45240 pensioners in February 2004 and Labour is helping all pensioners to enjoy a decent and secure retirement. 14668 pensioner households in Nottingham are now benefiting from Pension Credit, with a local average award of £43.59 a week. The Tories have opposed every measure Labour has taken to boost pensioner prosperity. They would let Labour's Pension Credit 'die' and penalise Britain's poorest pensioners.

Expanding …

More for pensioners, tackling poverty, sharing in prosperity

Labour wants all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement. Our first priority was to provide a boost in the incomes of the poorest pensioners and make sure that people who have worked hard share in the country's rising prosperity. In Nottingham, 41560 pensioners receive the basic state pension worth £79.60 for singles or £127.25 for couples (2004). 45240 pensioners benefit from the Winter Fuel Allowance, worth at least £200, plus £100 for those over 80. In addition, Labour introduced free TV licenses for over 75s, free eye tests and reduced the Tories' VAT on fuel from eight per cent to five per cent. The poorest pensioners are now significantly better off.

Our next challenge is to address the group of pensioners who've managed to save something for their retirement but who - until now - have found that it is knocked straight off their benefit entitlement, leaving them no better off than those who have not saved at all. We introduced the Pension Credit to reward saving. 14678 pensioner households in Nottingham are now benefiting from Pension Credit, with a local average award of £43.59 a week.

Regarding Council tax increases, there is a tendency to allege that the pensions increase is eaten up by the increases in Council tax; this is nowhere near true and those who make such allegations should be simply invited to do their sums. Also remember that single people are entitled to a 25% discount. And that there are around 14,500 households with a Council tax benefit claimant or partner who are sixty or over. There is a suggestion that around 1,600 households in Nottingham are claiming pension credit, but not Council Tax benefit, of which it’s estimated 300 are probably entitled.

Nottingham Social Services

Last year Nottingham City Council Social services provided services to over 8,000 individuals over 65. This includes 1,600 older people in residential and nursing care, 200 older people in our own residential homes. Our unit costs of supporting older people in residential and nursing care has improved against the national standard.

We supported 1,700 older people with a piece of equipment or adaptation to their home in order to help them maintain their independence.

Nottingham City Council provided intensive home care to over 500 people, an increase over the last 2 years. In total, over 4000 older people receive a home care service in any one year.

Nottingham City Council is in the top 25% of local authorities in terms of the numbers of older people that we help support in their own homes.

Nottingham City Council provides day care to over 1000 older people in our own day centres, well above the national average.

Nottingham City Council compares well against the national average in terms of the number of older people it supports from Black and Ethnic minority communities.

The Proposed Older Persons Village in Clifton represents a major investment by the City Council in a new service for older people. We have increased our number of Extra Care supported tenancies for older people over the past 4 years, and the development of further tenancies are planned.

Nottingham City Council SSD has located its Home Care out of hours service with the Emergency GP service in order to better co-ordinate the support of older people with our health colleagues.

The total spent on home care services, both in-house and from independent providers, for the next financial year will have increased to £11.8 million.

Nottingham City Council SSD will spend over £29 million on home care and residential services for older people in 05/06.

Nottingham Leisure and Community Services

Sport and Leisure

Dedicated sport and leisure sessions for older people:

- Swimming (Clifton Leisure Centre 60+, John Carroll Leisure Centre 50+, Noel Street Leisure Centre 50+, Portland Leisure Centre 50+, Southglade Leisure Centre 50+)

- 50+ Fitness Classes (Clifton, Harvey Hadden, Ken Martin Leisure Centre)

- 50+ Yoga (Clifton)

- 50+ Badminton (John Carroll)

- 50+ Activity Clubs (Ken Martin, Noel Street) – including badminton and gym, short mat bowls and table tennis

- 50+ Aerobics (Victoria Leisure Centre)

- 50+ Nice and Easy Dance and Aerobics (Portland)

- 50+ Indoor Bowls and Skittles (Portland)

- 50+ Gym (Southglade)

- 50+ Tai Chi (Southglade)

- 50+ Tennis (Tennis Centre)

Also:

- LEAP – Local Exercise Action Pilot working with Nottingham PCT to encourage people aged 50+ to engage in physical activity.

- Adult only swimming (Beechdale Leisure Centre, Clifton, John Carroll, Noel Street, Portland, Southglade, Victoria Leisure Centre)

• Libraries

- Deposit collections in Residential Homes

- 19 Community Libraries, Mobile Library Service for those unable to visit a Library and the Central Library – including Local Studies Library.

- Large Print Books and stories available on tape in every Library

- Housebound Service delivered by the WRVS. 400 Customers

- As part of the Housebound Service, to enhance customer choice, 2 laptop computers have been acquired with funding from the Learning and Skills Council

- Free Internet Access, support in use of computers and the Internet from library staff with ICT qualifications. (European Computer Driving Licence) – ‘Silver Surfers’.

- Picture the Past Website (with Derby, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Councils).

- Reading Groups (Aspley Library, Bakersfield Library, Bulwell Library, Central Library – General Group and a Crime Reading Group, Clifton Library, St. Ann’s Library, Sherwood Library, Wollaton Library)

- Punjabi, Gujerati and Urdu Reading Groups (Central Library)

- Hindi Reading Group (Hindu Temple)

- Over 60’s Group – bingo, craft activities, outings (Aspley)

- Meetings of Library Groups (Basford Library, Bestwood Library, Bulwell, Clifton, Sherwood)

- Library or Community Interest Talks in residential homes – half hour sessions using reminiscence boxes (Areas 2 and 5).

- Visually Impaired services in partnership with the RNIB and Social Services

- Library Service at QMC Hospital

• Museums and Galleries –

- Reminiscence sessions – 10 boxes loaned out. At the annual 1940’s May Day Event, the largest museums event of the year, the World War 2 reminiscence box is used and museums staff record written reminiscences about cave air raid shelters that the service is currently researching

- A number of retired volunteers work with the museums on a weekly basis.

- The Tanners Team all retired volunteers, (with the exception of their leader), are project funded and meet by-weekly at Brewhouse Yard, and their work leads to displays for example in the Community Showcase Gallery.

- A number of other groups of older people, such as the local hospice and a retired church group have made exhibitions for the Community Showcase Gallery.

- Work with African Caribbean elders – a project to display material brought over from Jamaica by Louise Dyer-Garvey and elders of the Broxtowe/Aspley African Caribbean population. This will involve a display at Brewhouse Yard Museum as part of the Black History Commemoration period. The Access Team will work with the elders to record and video their memories.

- Nigerian pottery – pots used in teaching by a local pottery teacher will be used in a celebration with elders with African heritage teaching young people how to cook and consume the appropriate foods.

- Friends of Nottingham Museums – many of the Friends are Older people.

- Nottingham has an attractive range of Museums e.g. Wollaton Hall, Castle, Newstead Abbey, Brewhouse Yard and Older people are keen Visitors (surveys show that around 50% of Visitors are over 50.)

- Family History and Local History work is often undertaken by older people and the museums service has a computer and information CDs dedicated to this usage.

• Arts and Events

- Nottingham Classics, Royal Centre, including Silver screen element of this programme

- Programme of open-air concerts in City parks, including traditional brass band music

- Large scale outdoor events are inclusive to a family audience and it is hoped that we attract older people to Riverside, Goose Fair and Bonfire Night as part of the traditional cultural experience of the City. Also:

- Autokarna

- Robin Hood Pageant

- Newstead Summer Stage

- Shakespeare at the Castle

- Newstead by Night

- Craft and antique markets

- Christmas market

All the above events have an appeal to our older community members

- Mela, Divali and Eid events are major family occasions and will have a good proportion of over 50’s attending

- Broadway – special matinee programme, will be hosting special programme of films to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II.

- Also links to Radio Nottingham with its appeal to older listeners and special projects in this partnership

- Nottingham Playhouse – grant aided by the City Council. A high percentage of their customers are older people and they have a regular group who meet and read plays together

- Application made to Home Front Recall for funds to make a short film about living in Nottingham during the war and this is a cross-generational project working with children and older people living in The Meadows area of the City.

[Drafted in 2005]