Agenda item

The report of the Director of Public Health shares the refresh of the draft Age Friendly Strategy & Action Plan 2022-2025, with Community Committee members to gain feedback.

The report of the Director of Public Health presented to the Inner West Community Committee the refresh of the draft Age Friendly Strategy and Action Plan 2022-2025 to gain feedback. The report also requested support and promotion of the work of Age Friendly within the city.

The Community Committee were provided with the following points:

• Around 1 in 3 people are aged 50 and over. The number of Leeds residents aged 80 and over will increase by about 50% in the next 20 years.
• Age Friendly Leeds is one of the eight priorities in the Best Council Plan 2020-2025. The vision for Leeds is that it is a place where people age well, older people are valued, respected, appreciated and seen as assets.
• The draft Age Friendly Leeds Strategy 2022-25 has been reviewed and refreshed which has been informed by The State of Ageing in Leeds report. The process has been overseen by the Age Friendly Board chaired by Cllr Jenkins. The role of the Board is to provide strategic leadership and set the strategic direction for the Age Friendly Leeds work programme and ensure that the objectives are being met.
• Leeds is a member of the World Health Organisation Age Friendly Cities programme and has used and adapted the framework to identify and address barriers to the well-being and participation of older people.
• The strategy sets out six key priority areas: housing; public and civic spaces; travel and road safety; active, included and respected; healthy and independent ageing and employment and learning. Each of the priorities is headed by a domain lead. Domain leads have been identified and are working to implement the actions set out in the plan. The domain leads will feedback on a quarterly basis.
• The Leeds Older Peoples Forum (LOPF) gives practical ways for the local community to become involved to strengthen the age friendly approach and Councillors were invited to support and encourage people and businesses to get involved in:
  • The Age Friendly Ambassador Programme
  • Becoming a Dementia Friend
  • Age and Dementia Friendly Businesses
  • The Come in and Rest Scheme
  • Leeds Older People’s Age Friendly Steering Group
• Public Health are working with partners to support older people in Leeds to be as resilient as possible this winter. It was recognised that the cost-of-living crisis together with the impact that the cold weather can have on older people will require an approach to ensure proactive and preventative support is provided to those most at risk this winter.

Members’ discussions included:

·  Taking on board the promotion of ‘come and rest’ initiative

·  The need to work closely with neighbourhood networks

·  Strategies needed to be inclusive of all citizens not restricted to particular age groups

·  How the strategy needs to influence the priorities for older people

·  Cross representation of parties on boards and to ensure that other boards are looking to promote and influence priorities set out in the strategy

It was suggested that the team from Age Friendly Strategy should attend the Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care sub-group and this could come back to the January 2023 meeting.

Members were disappointed that the strategy had not suggested measures to show success of the strategy and had not included specifics in relation to the Outer North West area.

Members also commented on the use of acronyms and jargon in the Strategy.

RESOLVED - To note the content of the report and for the report to be brought to the Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care sub-group and revisited.

Cllr Lay left the meeting during this item at 15:15.

Cllr Downes left the meeting during this item at 15:30