Agenda and minutes

The Democratic Support Officer invited nominations from Members present for Chairman of the Task Group.

It was proposed by Councillor Denwood and seconded by Councillor Rogerson :

“That Councillor Barnes be appointed Chairman of the Older People’s Task Group.”

There being no further nominations, Councillor Barnes was declared Chairman of the Older People’s Task Group.

Resolved:

That Councillor Barnes be appointed Chairman of the Older People’s Task Group.

Councillor Barnes took the Chair

1.  To develop an Older People’s Strategy for the Lancaster District in partnership with the private, statutory, voluntary and faith organisations as well as older people themselves, including the Forum for the Older Person.

2.   The strategy will seek to incorporate the priorities of the Older People’s Partnership Board; i.e. increasing financial security and benefit take-up, reducing isolation, creating a culture of prevention and early intervention delaying long term residential care and providing the best quality information and advice.

3.   To consider the services provided by Lancaster City Council to ensure that they are appropriate and accessible to an ageing population.

4.   To ensure that the policies of Lancaster City Council are relevant to the needs of older citizens.

Members were requested to consider the Terms of Reference for the Task Group that had been agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

It was suggested that the wording of the first Term of Reference should be amended to read :

“1.        To oversee the development of an Older People’s Strategy…..”

The Democratic Support Officer advised that the revised Terms of Reference would be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for approval.

Resolved unanimously:

That the Terms of Reference be noted, subject to the amendment of the first Term of Reference which would be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for approval.

The Democratic Support Officer presented the proposed work programme which set out the plan of meetings for the Task Group and some suggested site visits.

The main undertaking of the Task Group would be to review the draft strategy that had been produced by the Older People’s Partnership Board and to carry out a mapping exercise of services provided by the Council in relation to older people.

Resolved :

That the Work Programme for the Task Group be noted.

Mark Luraschi Locality Commissioning Manager, Lancashire County Council, explained that his role at the County Council was to ensure that all services provided were suitable for all Older People, and that there was no duplication in services provided by the voluntary, public, and private sectors.

It was reported that the aging population would lead to a radical change in the demographic of the district in the near future, and that it was crucial that the Council ensure that its services are suitable for this change.

Members were advised that government legislation defined an older person as anyone aged 50 years or older. It was important to recognise that the needs of older people were wide ranging - including employment, education, transport, health, not just social care as was often the perception.

The Task Group was informed  that it was important to provide as much help as possible to enable people to stay independent longer, and thus mitigate the effects of the changing demographic in the district.  It was reported that the County Council was currently carrying out a mapping exercise to look at what they do for Older People at every level.

The Corporate Director (Community Services) outlined the history of Link Age Plus to the group, explaining that it had been an initiative that had come out of a government policy to pursue a more integrated approach towards providing services for older people. The City Council had received approximately £750,000 funding over a two year period and worked with key partners including Lancashire County Council and Social Services. The initiative aimed to coordinate access to a whole range of services and the Help Direct project enabled this work to be taken forward.

Members were then given a presentation on Help Direct.

It was reported that Help Direct was a new information, signposting and referral service open to all adults in Lancashire to help them stay independent and improve their well-being. The aim of Help Direct was to lead a partnership of agencies currently delivering well-being services, with a commitment towards better collaboration and partnerships working.

The key areas of Help Direct were outlined to the group, and it was explained that each Help Direct district would be uniquely targeted to meet the needs of the local people.

The Chairman thanked Donna and Mark for providing the Task Group with information.

A copy of the Draft Strategy will be circulated at the meeting.

The draft strategy produced by the Older People’s Partnership Board was distributed to Members to take away and read in preparation for the next meeting of the Task Group when it would be considered in detail.