Dear Colleague
We hope this finds you well and enjoying the Summer months.
You will find herewith updates on the following, which we hope will be of interest
to you in the run up to our AGM in October;
-
- Campaigns –
i) 2024 Election Results & Government Appointments
ii) Pensions Related Updates
iii) LLA Pensioners’ Manifesto Campaigns
iv) Social Care Campaigns
v) NPC Newsletters
vi) Changes to Winter Fuel Payments
- Campaigns –
-
- Advice for Groups –
i) Changes at HQ
ii) New Recruitment Materials and Updates
iii) CSPA Website Updates
iv) Member Communications Preferences
v) The Pensioner now available online!
- Advice for Groups –
1. Campaign Updates
i) 2024 Election Results & Government Appointments
We would like to thank all those who used our LLA manifesto and election toolkit to communicate with election candidates and others in the run up to election day on July 4th. When the main parties made their pre-election pledges, we were pleased to see at least some of our LLA manifesto’s priority ‘asks’ incorporated, with the Liberal Democrats having gone furthest in matching our six campaign demands most closely in their party manifesto, particularly setting out commitments to address the urgent need to deliver a new National Social Care Framework.
Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, and some of the smaller parties, all promised to honour the ‘Triple Lock’ in increases to State Pensions for the duration of this parliament, but many of Labour’s other commitments were a lot less specific in nature.
Of the 650 MPs elected in July, over half (335) have never been MPs before, so there is a lot of engaging we have to do to let them know who we are and what we are asking for on our members’ behalf (as CSPA / as LLA / as the NPC / as part of the Care & Support Alliance / Carer Poverty Coalition / Age Sector campaign group / etc)
Connect suggest that, having won 411 of 650 seats, it is wise to prioritise engagement with Labour stakeholders as their new Government Ministers and backbenchers have the numbers to set the political agenda for the next few years and will want to make their mark early on by delivering the ‘change’ they promised. On the other hand, we should continue to engage with opposition MPs to ‘futureproof’ our position and take advantage of their ability to ask parliamentary questions on our behalf. Opposition parties also tend to have fewer paid advisers and researchers at their disposal, so
may be more likely to seek policy support from external organisations who chime with their interests, and many new names will be looking to make a name for themselves by championing causes.
You can find a helpful overview of the new Government Ministers, in the form of a New Government Briefing Pack (July 2024), put together by Connect in the Document Library of the CSPA website’s embers’ Area. If you cannot access the website and would like a paper copy posted to you, please give us a call.
The LLA partners have written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP, and other newly appointed Government Ministers, to welcome them to their posts and make them aware of the LLA and our campaigns. We hope to secure meetings with some of them in the coming months.
ii) Pensions Updates
State Pensions
State Pensions rose by 8.5% from 8 April this year under the Triple-Lock (earnings increase; or CPI inflation; or 2.5%; whichever is the higher) after CSPA and our LLA partners campaigned for the full annual increase in average earnings to apply, including bonus payments – see Winter 2023 issue of The Pensioner.
The increase to be applied in April 2025 will be confirmed by the Chancellor in her Autumn Budget Statement, which will be delivered on 30 October this year.
Civil Service Pensions
Civil Service pensions rose by 6.7% from Monday 8 April, as this was confirmed by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 25 January. CSPA had been raising the issue with the Cabinet Office in advance of the announcement. The increase was based on the September 2023 CPI annual inflation rate. Pro-rata increases are applied for those who first started to receive their pension after April last year.
The increase to be applied in April 2025 should reflect the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation in September 2024, so we should soon be in a position to confirm what this is likely to be.
Other Public Sector Pensions
The newspaper articles referred to in the list below are indicative of the growing pressure on the public purse due to the cost of public sector pensions. We cannot be complacent in this respect, and we must continue to emphasise the need to ‘protect what we have earned’, as well as taking every opportunity to set the record straight by debunking media suggestions about ‘gold-plated’ pensions.
iii)LLA Pensioners’ Manifesto Campaigns – Case Studies Needed for Media
The LLA partners, supported by Connect, will be using the coming months to build on each of the areas addressed our manifesto in turn. We have already been active in our media campaigns on the changes to the Winter Fuel Payments and we continue to highlight the critical importance of the State Pension Triple Lock commitment.
However, there is more campaigning to be done in building our work around demands for a new National Social Care Service, integrated with the NHS, that remains free at the point of use, and a national strategy to ensure the delivery of more adaptable services, accessible homes across all tenures.
If anyone in your Group might be willing to be mentioned in articles in the press as case studies underlining the importance of our campaign demands, please could you ask them to get in touch with the GS to let us know their names, contact details and personal stories. We know that our press releases have a far greater chance of getting into the mainstream media if they have real life stories attached to them.
2024 marks the 10th anniversary of Later Life Ambitions, and we hope to mark this occasion with an event to be held in the Autumn – more on this to follow.
iv) Social Care Campaigns
Care and Support Alliance
CSPA are now members of the Care & Support Alliance (CSA), which is made up of over 60 of Britain’s leading charities and not- for-profit organisations campaigning alongside the millions of older people, disabled people and their carers who deserve decent care.
A full list of members can be found on www.careandsupportalliance.com.
In the run up to the General Election, we encouraged CSPA members via our website, social media and e-newsletters to support the CSA’s Show Us You Care campaign. In the first ‘wave’, the online tool we promoted as part of this campaign encouraging people to contact their local MPs and candidates about social care related issues in their constituencies resulted in over 50,000 actions across the country. The CSA also wrote to all party leaders in this regard.
The second ‘wave’ was launched on the 22nd July 2024, and focuses on newly elected Local Councillors. There is an interactive, online tool that allows people to assess their Local Authority’s provision of social care services against others.
The intention is to highlight that this is a local issue with a national solution, and that not doing anything to address disparities across the country is unacceptable. You can read our news article entitled “What’s care like near you?” or go straight to
Show us you care – Care and Support Alliance – representing over 60 of Britain’s leading charities campaigning for decent social care to enter your postcode and find out more.
The CSA has had some great press coverage recently, with over 170 regional stories being picked up on, and nationally in the Independent in an article entitled “Postcode lottery for care reflects perfect storm on costs, demand and staffing” (26th July 2024).
Carer Poverty Coalition and Carers UK
The CPC is made up of over 130 member organisations, working together to raise awareness of poverty and financial hardship suffered by unpaid carers, and to campaign for changes to improve the lives of those who support friends and family members affected by long-term illness, disability or older age.
Earlier this year, we launched a joint manifesto which included a list of policies to reduce poverty amongst unpaid carers. Open letters, signed by CSPA, have recently been written to both Rachel Reeves MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Liz Kendall MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to congratulate them on their appointment and highlight the needs of carers and key asks of the Coalition. Copies of both letters are attached to this circular.
Carers UK has successfully launched their Report on Carer’s Allowance Overpayments (also attached to this circular), which draws on the experiences of 138 carers who have had an overpayment. You may have seen or heard extensive coverage about this on BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 4 on the 29th July, with Emily Holzhausen CBE, Carers UK’s Charity Director being interviewed alongside some of those carers affected by the issue.
v) NPC Campaign! Newsletter – Issue 183, Connections for All – July Issue 12 and Health & Social Care News – June Issue (attached)
CSPA continues to play an active role in the National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC) and you will find updates on their latest campaigns in the attached copies of their NPC Campaign! newsletters. Much of NPC Campaign! Issue 183 relates to the election, however you may be interested in some of the other content nevertheless.
vi) Changes to Winter Fuel Payments
Chancellor Rachel Reeves addressed the House of Commons on Monday 29th July, outlining the Treasury’s spending review findings, and setting out several ways in which the new Government plans to address the “black hole” left in public finances by the estimated £22 billion pound overspend of the previous Government.
The measures the Chancellor announced included asking all government departments to absorb at least a £3 billion reduction in costs, abandonment of the controversial Rwanda immigration scheme and the scrapping the proposed Stone Henge tunnel
project.
Winter Fuel Payments, which have in recent years been paid to all pensioners tax-free, are to be restricted to those on Pension Credit and certain other benefits only this year.
News articles have been posted on the CSPA website in this regard as follows:
1) The Chancellor is restricting the Winter Fuel Payment – CSPA
2) LLA concerned by means tested winter fuel payments – CSPA
3) Up to 2m pensioners will struggle without winter fuel help – CSPA
If you would like a paper print of any of these please let us know.
Independent Age
Independent Age have written to us to say that one activity they’re planning to campaign against the withdrawal of Winter Fuel payments from many is sending a joint letter to Rachel Reeves this week – this letter will be public, and they aim to secure media coverage.
Independent Age say their main reasons for concern about the recent announcement are:
• currently nearly 40% of older households miss out on the Pension Credit they’re
entitled to, and they will also now miss out on the WFP
• there are lots of older people in financial hardship who are just above the Pension Credit means test threshold – some missing out by only a few pounds – but are severely struggling.
For these reasons they don’t think the Government should do this now. The GS has signed the open letter on behalf of CSPA. (see copy attached)
Age UK
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK has been extensively quoted in the press in response to Rachel Reeves’ announcements about changes to Winter Fuel Payments and their impact on 2 million pensioners either just above the threshold for receiving Pension Credit or eligible but not currently claiming this form of support.
We have promoted Age UK’s petition to CSPA members on our website here – Up to 2m pensioners will struggle without winter fuel help – CSPA and we would encourage you to sign it if you haven’t done so already.
You can contact Age UK for paper copies of their petition or call us and we will send you copies if you are unable to access it online. The relevant newspaper articles are included in the list of references below.
NPC
NPC members are writing to their MPs and signing Age UK’s petition in a mass protest at the Chancellor’s decision to cut universal Winter Fuel Payments. They are shocked at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement that only those in receipt of Pension Credit will qualify for the £300 allowance to help with fuel bills this winter.
NPC General Secretary Jan Shortt has written to urge the Chancellor to reverse her ‘ill-advised’ move which will cause serious hardship to millions already struggling to make ends meet. Her comments have received substantial media coverage, including by The Guardian and The Mirror.
In her letter to the Chancellor, Jan wrote: “The NPC believes that the government should not make this policy change now. Ensuring those who are not currently receiving the Pension Credit they are entitled to is paramount, as is a robust strategy for the take up of broader benefit availability. We ask that you step away from this ill-advised strategy immediately to protect those older people most affected by your decision.”
Information on how to write to your MP, along with a template letter, are detailed in our Latest News on the NPC website (www.npcuk.org).
2. Advice for Groups –
i) Recent Changes at HQ
Marion McAuliffe has recently taken partial retirement, and her working days have been reduced to 2 days a week (Wed/Thurs). Marion retains responsibility for all our membership subscription payments and for the administration of the AGM. We are pleased to advise that Lorraine Lydon has joined the team as our new part-time Office Manager (Mon – Wed). Lorraine will be dealing with Group Newsletters, and she will be responsible for their issue to members via the online platform, as well as dealing with more general office management. Lorraine can be contacted on Tel: 0208 688 8418 or you can email her at lorraine.lydon@cspa.co.uk with any queries with reference to Newsletters and to submit newsletters for processing and issue.
ii) New Recruitment Materials and Updates
Verity Morrish, our Digital Campaign Manager, has produced a range of suited recruitment materials including the attached flyers, which can be printed off at either A5 or A6 size for handy distribution. You are welcome to contact HQ if you would like us to send you some. We can also make you an A4 or A3 poster, which can be customised to include your contact details if required.
iii) CSPA Website Updates
Regional and Branch pages updated Regional Representative’s contact details and Group Newsletters are now easier to find on the Region and Branch home pages within the Members Area of the website.
We are also highlighting the dates of all Group or Branch events in the form of ads, and Regional and Branch News pages are to be used to highlight relevant member benefits in due course. Please encourage your members with access to the internet to visit the CSPA website and follow us on social media, as we are posting on average three news articles a week and adding to the information and resources available on the website regularly.
Note – In order for members to log into the Members Area of the website we need to hold a current email address for them on our membership database. Please direct anyone having difficulties logging in, or who has not logged in within the last six months or so, to get in touch with us by email enquiries@cspa.co.uk or to call 020 8688 8418 (Office) to check that we hold the correct email address on their records.
iv) Member Communications Preferences
Please do get in touch to let us know if you, or any of your Group members, wish to receive copies of group newsletters in the post, our e-newsletters, or The Pensioner magazines but currently aren’t getting these, and we can check and update communication preferences accordingly to make sure this is rectified, and send out backdated copies if required.
v) The Pensioner now available online!
Our website now has an attractive, ‘flip page’ taster version of The Pensioner magazine posted to the News pages in the public-facing part of the website, and a complete copy of The Pensioner in digital form is also available for members to download in the Membership Benefits section within the Members Area.
If you have any questions or require any further information about the matters covered by this Group Circular, please don’t hesitate to contact us, either by emailing benedetta.makanju@cspa.co.uk or by telephone on 020 8688 8418 (Office).
Yours sincerely
Sally Tsoukaris
General Secretary
Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance
Tel: 020 8688 8418
Email: sally.tsoukaris@cspa.co.uk
