Dear Member
Welcome to the winter 2024 edition of the CSPA Norfolk and Suffolk Group Newsletter. I hope you all had an enjoyable festive break and are feeling refreshed to face a new year, which I hope will be a happy and healthy one.
Our next Group meeting will be on Wednesday, 28 February 2024, at 2 pm, at Chapel Field Road Methodist Church, Norwich, NR2 1SD.
This will be the Group AGM and full details are on page 4 of this Newsletter.
New Treasurer
After many years of service to the Group, Alan Marrs wishes to stand down as Group Treasurer. We will very much miss his careful control of our accounts but hope he will still feel able to remain as a member of the Group Committee.
This means that at the AGM on 28 February, we will need to elect a new Treasurer. Whilst this is a responsible position, the amount of work is not particularly extensive, so we are hopeful that a suitable person will volunteer to become Treasurer to enable the Group to continue its work.
Richard
Group Subscriptions
Paying a small subscription to the Group is entirely voluntary and must not be confused with the subscription to become a Member of CSPA. A reminder that for those wishing to pay a subscription to the Group, subscriptions were due on 1 January 2024, (£3 for individual membership; £5 for joint membership). Group subscribers who pay by cheque should make cheques payable to CSPA and send them to the current Treasurer, Alan Marrs,
38 Three Corner Drive, Old Catton, Norwich, NR6 7HB.
Alternatively, Group subscriptions can be sent by bank transfer (BACS) to the following account:
Account Name: Civil Service Pensioners Alliance Norfolk Group; Bank: HSBC.
Sort Code: 40-35-09; Account No.: 11265768; Please quote your name as reference.
If you have not subscribed to the Group before, please also let our Treasurer have your contact details for reference.
Alan
Donations to the Lifeboat Fund
In the Summer 2023 edition of the Pensioner, there was an article about the Lifeboat Fund on page 32, which set out the preferred way to make a donation. If you wish to do this, please make cheques payable to the Lifeboat Fund and send to:
The Civil Service Lifeboat fund, c/o 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF.
The Later Life Ambitions Group, which includes CSPA, has produced a manifesto with the above title. In an election year this sets out some of the main issues of concern to older people. A brief summary of the concerns covered is set out below.
Later Life Ambitions brings together the collective voice of over a quarter of a million pensioners through our member organisations – the National Federation of Occupational Pensioners, the Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance, and the National Association of Retired Police Officers.
This manifesto sets out our vision for a better future not just for our members, but for the 11 million people in later life throughout the UK. By 2030, there will be almost 13 million people in later life. They will have aspirations for themselves. The issues pensioners face today will also impact on future generations of pensioners unless today’s policymakers are willing to confront the challenges now. This manifesto lays out our vision for a better deal for older people, and we urge you to join us in championing this vision.
Social Care
Many of us will require some level of care when we get older. Life expectancy has plateaued, and there are a growing number of people spending their later lives in poor or failing health. Within the next decade, the number of older people will have increased to nearly a quarter of the population. Meanwhile, the number of years we can expect to spend in good health, without a disabling illness, continues to decline. The need for better, more comprehensive care in later life continues to deepen.
Our call: A National Social Care Service integrated with the National Health Service
that remains free at the point of delivery.
Funding
Millions of older people don’t know how they will be cared for in old age. An Ipsos report found that the majority of the UK public were unaware that individuals are often responsible for paying for all or most of their own care. People who do not qualify for publicly funded social care must pay all of their care costs themselves. This has led to 143,000 older people facing ‘catastrophic lifetime costs’ of £100,000 or more. This is not sustainable or fair, so we are calling for the UK Government to increase spending on adult social care in proportion to total public expenditure. We are also calling for a 10-year minimum spending commitment from the UK Government to meet the cost of social care, with a pledge to increase real terms expenditure significantly across this period.
Transport
Decent and affordable public transport is a vital line of support for older people, enabling them to retain their independence. Yet lack of access to public transport can have a significant impact on an older person’s quality of life. Two in three older people cannot reach a hospital within 30 minutes by public transport, while in England alone 27% of bus routes, measured by mileage, have disappeared in the last ten years with a total of 5,000 routes closing altogether. A further 2,160 services were lost in 2022-23.
We welcome measures contained in the National Bus Strategy to improve services. However, we also want to see bus services made more accessible to all. Evidence from the Campaign for Better Transport suggests that the average concessionary bus pass is used over 100 times a year, with the consultancy KPMG finding that each £1 spent on concessionary bus fares for older and disabled people generates £3.80 in economic benefits. In alignment with Age UK, we are calling for the bus concession schemes in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to remain free and universal for older people. We would also like local authorities to have a statutory requirement to provide and maintain minimum standards of accessibility for older people to a supported bus network, in addition to adequate assistance for older people on buses, trains and at stations.
The Annual General Meeting of the Group will be held on
Wednesday, 28 February 2024, starting at 2.00 pm
at Chapel Field Road Methodist Church, Norwich, NR2 1SD
Tea/coffee will be provided
AGENDA
1. Welcome and apologies
2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 22 February 2023 and Minutes of meeting 29 November 2023.
3. Matters arising
4. Secretary’s Report
5. Treasurer’s Report and adoption of the Group Annual Report and Accounts for 2023
6. Elections to Group Committee and Group delegate to CSPA AGM. Please note that a new Treasurer will need to be elected.
7. Motions for Discussion (Please let our Secretary, Tim, know if you wish to propose a motion, but motions can be accepted at the meeting).
8. Open Forum
9. Any other business
10. Date and venue of next Meeting; Wednesday, 22 May 2023, at Chapel Field Road Methodist Church, Norwich, NR2 1SD
Your Current Committee Members Are-
Chair: Richard West
01603 423144 richard.west08@gmail.com
Secretary: Tim Hartstone
01953 558400 t.hartstone@hotmail.co.uk
Treasurer: Alan Marrs
01603 410739
Membership:
Frank Edwards
01842 766097 frank.edwards30@sky.com
Derek Land
01508 520532 derek.land@electramail.co.uk
Margaret Noble
01493 296246 megnob43@gmail.com
Delegate:
John Thompson 01502 581481 johntommo6@btinternet.com
Neville Jarvis 01394 275490 neville.jarvis1@btinternet.com
