Memorandum by Age Concern (SOC 79)
1. INTRODUCTION
Age Concern England (the National Council on
Ageing) brings together Age Concern organisations working at a
local level and 100 national bodies, including charities, professional
bodies and representational groups with an interest in older people
and ageing issues. Through our national information line, which
receives 225,000 telephone and postal enquiries a year, and the
information services offered by local Age Concern organisations,
we are in day to day contact with older people and their concerns.
The context for our submission is the ageing
population. The 2001 census showed that, for the first time, people
over 60 outnumber children under 16 in the UK. The likelihood
of living alone increases with age. For example 19% of men and
35% of women between the ages of 65—74 live alone; the figures
for those over 75 are 32% and 59% respectively.[1]
Our ageing population is growing in diversity. Approximately 7%
of the black and minority ethnic population is over 65 years old,
and this is increasing. Older people are not a single group, but
are as varied as any other group in the general population.
We are pleased to have the opportunity to submit
evidence to the Inquiry into Social Cohesion. We believe that
social cohesion is a fluid concept in that communities change
over time, and issues and measures that may be appropriate today,
may not be so relevant in a few years time. We focus our comments
on the problems, offer examples of solutions, and conclude with
some recommendations.
2. THE PROBLEMS
Older people, particularly older women, are
very concerned about crime and personal safety issues. This is
despite the fact that people aged 60 and over are less likely
to become a victim of crime than people in other age groups.[2]
In research conducted by Age Concern in 2002[3]many
older people were worried about the level of safety and security
of the area they lived in. Whilst the survey did not specifically
enquire about the impact of anti-social behaviour, comments from
survey respondents showed that anti-social behaviour by young
people and some adults was an important issue affecting feelings
of safety. Fear of crime can prevent older people from participating
in activities outside the home, resulting in isolation and potential
detrimental effects on health. A survey into older people's views
on quality of life showed that nearly two-fifths of older people
rated a safe, secure and neighbourly neighbourhood among the key
things that contributed to the quality of their lives.[4]
Fear of crime can be a barrier to older people
getting involved in their local communities, particularly in activities
that take place after dark. Another barrier can be a stereotypical
view of older people that sees them as passive members of the
community, in need of services and support, rather than as active
members who contribute to their communities and, given the opportunity,
might choose to do more. Already 5,260,000 million people over
50 take part in voluntary work in Great Britain.[5]
However, there are practical barriers to older people getting
involved. These include a lack of confidence or familiarity in
dealing with official groups or formal meetings in formal settings;
language barriers; and lack of transport. Some older people may
also have difficulty getting information about community activities,
particularly if this is transmitted through websites.
Barriers to involving older people can be unwittingly
constructed through public policy. Unless older people are specifically
mentioned in policy initiatives and programmes and/or targets
to include older people set, then they can be ignored. For example
research carried out in 1999 showed that regeneration and neighbourhood
renewal programmes too often ignored older people, both as possible
beneficiaries of programmes, but also as participants.[6]
Voluntary organisations play an important role
in local communities, and often they are in touch with how communities
may be changing, and the issues and problems that can arise. Some
of the problems that voluntary organisations face include lack
of funding and/or short-term funding; and lack of consultation.
The latter can be particularly true of issues that are not regarded
as `traditional' older people's issues—such as regeneration
and renewal programmes.
3. SOLUTIONS
Older people already contribute a great deal
to their communities in a wide range of different roles—for
example, as volunteers, councillors, carers, and through organisations
like neighbourhood watch. To improve social cohesion it is essential
to involve older people—they can be the "glue"
in the community.
Projects that bring older and younger people
together can be particularly beneficial in breaking down barriers
and mistrust. Age Concern has been involved in a number of projects
that seek to do this. For example, "LifeLink" projects
set up in North Shields to combat the fear of crime within communities
by bringing together social groups which mistrust each other.
Activities included teaching of IT skills to people over 50 by
a school computer club; and a video-conferencing project, linking
older and younger people in different parts of Tyneside. Age Concern
Barrow developed intergenerational work and produced a resource
and teaching pack designed to build bridges and understanding
between younger and older people.[7]
In Enfield volunteers from Age Concern are involved in the Sure
Start programme and provide a cre"che to help refugee parents
attend English classes, two nursery schools, a play project and
a family "drop-in" resource.[8]
Age Concern's Trans Age Action programme is a foster grandparent
scheme that allows older people to play a supportive role in the
lives of children whose families are going through difficult circumstances.
The Better Government for Older People Programme
is a partnership between Government (the Department for Work and
Pensions), voluntary organisations and local government. It was
established to improve the involvement and engagement of older
people, initially through a programme of 28 pilot projects. Now
a much bigger programme, it has played an important role in many
areas of the country, for example through the establishment of
older people's fora and consultative groups.
One of the barriers to older people becoming
involved in their local communities can be a lack of confidence
and familiarity with how community and local government structures
work. For this reason, Age Concern developed a "Voice and
Choice" course which helps to equip older people to take
part in such activities.
Conclusions and Recommendations
There are a number of encouraging developments
that should be built on in order to improve social cohesion and,
specifically, the involvement of older people. Recent research
on regeneration shows that older people are beginning to become
more involved, particularly in programmes with a health or intergenerational
focus. This is often as a result of older people's groups working
hard to establish good relationships with local authorities and
regeneration partnerships.
At the policy level, there needs to be explicit
inclusion of older people. Older people are noticeable by their
absence in the Government's Guidance on Community Cohesion. Revised
guidance is due in mid 2004 and provides an excellent opportunity
to include older people, and Age Concern has met with the Community
Cohesion Unit to discuss this.
The Social Exclusion Unit is beginning to examine
the social exclusion of older people. We welcome this as an overdue
development, and recommend that this covers issues of social cohesion
in its remit.
Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) are an important
mechanism for bringing together different organisations and interests
in developing local strategies and planning services. The Accreditation
Guidance for Local Strategic Partnerships (2002) did not include
consulting and involving older people as a key condition for partnership
accreditation. We recommend that the new Performance Management
Framework for LSPs builds in the involvement of older people as
part of the indicators within its core requirements.
The voluntary sector needs to be nurtured and
supported in order that it can realise its full potential to contribute
to social cohesion. The report of the Treasury Cross-Cutting Review
of the Voluntary and Community Sector (September 2002) set out
a template for how government and the voluntary and community
sector should work together. If its 43 recommendations are taken
forward in line with its action plan to 2006, this will be of
great help to voluntary organisations. We welcomed the Treasury's
announcement of the futurebuilders fund for voluntary organisations
as recognition of the need for capacity building in the sector.
1 Living in Britain: results from the 2001 General
Household Survey. National Statistics. 2002. Back
2
Chivite-Matthews, N and Maggs, P (2002) Crime, Policing and
Justice: the experience of older people. Findings from the
British Crime Survey, England and Wales. Office for National Statistics.
2002. Back
3
The Fear Factor-Older People and Fear of Street Crime: A Survey
of Views, Experiences and Impact on Quality of Life. Age Concern
England 2003. Back
4
Bowling, A et al, Older People's Views on Quality of Life.
ESRC 2002. Back
5
The Economy and Older People. Policy Report, Age Concern
England (forthcoming). Back
6
Riseborough, M and Sribjlanin, A. Overlooked and Excluded ?
Older People and Regeneration. Age Concern England, 2000. Back
7
Who's Sorry Now? Age Concern Barrow 2003. Back
8
Riseborough, M and Jenkins, C Now You See Me Now You Don't:
How are older citizens being included in regeneration? (forthcoming). Back
| 
