Dear Colleague,
- CIVIL SERVICE PENSION INCREASE 10.1%
- NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OCTOBER 11-12, 2023
- GROUP NEWSLETTERS AND GROUP MEMBER LISTS
- GROUP ACCOUNTS
- MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
- LOGGING ON MEMBERS AREA OF WEBSITE
- SOCIAL CARE CAMPAIGN
- CAMPAIGN TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO GPS
- SURVIVOR PENSIONS FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN
1.CIVIL SERVICE PENSION INCREASE 10.1%
CSPA have been maintaining pressure for some time for the Government to confirm Civil Service Pensions are to be increased in line with inflation. In some welcome news, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury made a Written Statement on 20 February 2023 confirming that public service pensions would be increased by 10.1%, from 10 April 2023.
Public service pensions which have been in payment for a year will be increased by 10.1% from 10 April 2023 in line with the September-to-September increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Any pension which has been in payment for less than a year will be increased by a proportionate amount depending on the number of months it has been in payment.
2. NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OCTOBER 11-12, 2023
The CSPA Annual General Meeting 2023 will take place at Chesford Grange Hotel, commencing in the afternoon of Wednesday 11 October and finishing in the afternoon of Thursday 12 October.
Groups and Branches will be invited to submit Motions for discussion at the 2023 AGM and Nominations for the posts of Officers, members of the Executive Council and members of the Standing Orders Committee in April. Please note that the date for receipt of nominations and motions this year will be Friday 7 July.
3. GROUP NEWSLETTERS AND GROUP MEMBER LISTS
HQ staff have been working hard to distribute group newsletters and to provide group member lists. There have been some delays following the implementation of the new database. This has required us to review the membership information we hold. This work is progressing well and will provide a strong basis for CSPA to provide an even better service to its members. Thank you to groups for their patience.
In order to save costs and staff time, the CSPA office will be outsourcing the mailing of group newsletters from beginning of April. The new system requirements will mean that there must be a generous space allowed for the insertion of the addressee’s details on the front page of the group newsletter. Please bear this in mind when drafting your group communications. Further information on this will be shared in due course.
4. GROUP ACCOUNTS
Groups are reminded that they should send their end of year financial account to the National Treasurer, Mike Sparham. They can be sent by email to M.Sparham@cspa.co.uk or by post to Head Office. They should be sent within two months of the Group’s AGM.
5. MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
Any members thinking about buying a new car will be pleased to hear that massive savings of up to 32% can be made through the CSPA deal with Parliament Hill. Details of other benefits available to CSPA members can be found in the members area of the website https://members.cspa.co.uk/discounts/. Any member who is not online can call or email head office to request a copy of the benefits accessible without internet access.
6. LOGGING ON MEMBERS AREA OF WEBSITE
Although many members are logging into the new CSPA website members area without trouble, we have had a few reports of problems. If a member attempts several times to reset their password, it can corrupt their data on the website and return an error message. We are arranging for a new simplified “how to log in” video to be made available on the website. In the meantime members can call the HQ Office if experiencing problems
7. SOCIAL CARE CAMPAIGN
Several motions debated at the AGM last October concerned the difficulties in accessing social care. CSPA now has a policy for free social care which closely aligns with both Age UK and the National Pensioners Convention.
Groups are encouraged to use the template to write to their local MP or sign the letter to the Chancellor online at the link below; https://campaigns.ageuk.org.uk/page/117503/petition/1?ea.tracking.id=Discover
8. CAMPAIGN TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO GPS
We are supporting the Royal College of General Practitioners Fit for the Future Campaign. The campaign is calling for the Government to commit to a plan to make general practice sustainable for the future, which should include:
- A new recruitment and retention strategy that allows us to go beyond the target of 6000 more GPs
- An NHS wide campaign to free up GPs to spend more time with patients by cutting unnecessary workload and bureaucracy
- Improving patients’ experience of accessing care by investing in a new suite of IT products and support for practices, making it easier for patients to choose to see the same GP or the next available member of the team.
- Returning funding for general practice to 11% of total health spend, including £1 billion additional investment in GP premises.
Members are encouraged to ask their MP to support the campaign – more details are here: https://rcgp.eaction.org.uk/TellYourMP/search
9.SURVIVOR PENSIONS FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN
Our long running campaign to secure widows pensions for life in the Classic Scheme is continuing. Members who would like to support us are asked to write to their MP using the template at the website for the campaign here. https://connectpa.co.uk/pensions-for-life/
We are also looking for members affected by the rule to volunteer for media stories (volunteers will be guided through the process by our media consultant at Connect PR)
If any members can help they are asked to contact James Millar at j.millar@connectpa.co.uk or by telephone Tel: 020 7592 9592 Mob: 07719875884.
If you have any questions or require any further information about the matters covered by this Group Circular, please don’t hesitate to contact me, either by email at lisa.ray@cspa.co.uk or by telephone on 020 8688 8418 (Office).
NB: many campaigns are now online only. Members who would like to support our campaigns and who do not have internet access, are welcome to contact HQ office and request a hard copy of template MP letters be sent to them.