Agenda item

To receive and consider the attached report of the Director of Public Health

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.

Robina Ahmed, Advanced Health Improvement Specialist, Jo Volpe, Older People’s Forum and Councillor David Jenkins, Chair of the Age Friendly Board were in attendance for this item

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. The process has been overseen by the Age Friendly Board whose role was 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 was 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) gave 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 were 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 could have on older people would require an approach to ensure proactive and preventative support was provided to those most at risk this winter. It was noted there are a range of services to support older people during cold weather including:
  • Information and Advice Service run through Age UK Leeds who can offer information and advice on a range of issues such as:
    • Money Matters
    • State Benefits
    • Housing Rights
    • Consumer issues
  • Home Plus Leeds – whose aim is to enable and maintain independent living through improving health at home.
  • Lunch Clubs – Public Health fund the annual Lunch Club Grants offering a financial contribution to support voluntary groups to provide hot nutritious meals and social activities for older people.
  • Sign up to receive Cold Weather Alerts
  • ‘Stay Well this Winter’ Grants
  • Become a winter friend

·  Cost of living and fuel crisis including priority register for energy companies and a pilot scheme looking at the use of slow cookers.

·  Support with the cost of living crisis.

·  Tackling loneliness.

·  Opportunities to enhance the lives of Older People through the Local Plan.

Members’ discussions included:

·  Information on financial inclusion was distributed.  This provided information on services available to Leeds residents.

·  The role of Neighbourhood Networks and the need to identify older people who needed support. 

·  Addressing the diversity of the outer areas where there were older people who had capital assets but may be struggling with day to day spending.

·  Concern regarding the reduction in bus services and the impact on isolation as well as access to services.

·  Members welcomed the update on the strategy and the work involved in bringing services together.

·  The role of volunteers and voluntary organisations.

·  Provision of warm places and places to rest.

·  Encouraging digital inclusion for older people and access to digital facilities.

RESOLVED –

1.  That the report and the refresh of the Age Friendly Strategy be noted.

2.  That the work currently underway to support age friendly, winter planning and the cost of living crisis in local areas and how these could be built on together be noted.

3.  That the needs of the local ageing population and how these needs can be addressed through local age friendly work be noted.