Paper 3:2007
NATIONAL FORUM ON AGEING
OLDER PEOPLE'S CONSULTATIVE FORUM
ALL OUR FUTURES: NATIONAL FORUM ON AGEING
Introduction
1. On 14 August Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met older people's stakeholder groups, and we had a further meeting on 27 September under a National Forum on Ageing: Older People's Consultative Forum banner.
2. Some initial proposals on the National Forum on Ageing were set out in paper 1:2007 considered on 27 September. This paper seeks to clarify the respective roles of the proposed National Forum on Ageing and the already existing Older People's Consultative Forum.
3. All Our Futures said (volume 1, page 11) -
"We will establish a broadly based National Forum on Ageing to champion this work; to help take forward the development of this Strategy through raising awareness, and providing advice and assistance to all sectors in developing their responses to the Strategy."
4. The note of the discussion on 27 September is at Annex B for ease of reference.
Engagement with Older People
5. Scottish Ministers recognise the key role played by older people and want to continue to be open to the views of older people and their stakeholder organisations.
6. That is why the Older People's Consultative Forum was set up in 2002 and has continued into the current administration, allowing Ministers first hand interaction with key older people's stakeholders. This forum has been used to seek views on work carried out by the Scottish Government, and to allow issues of concern to be raised directly with Ministers.
7. However it needs to be recognised that the OPCF is not the exclusive channel through which the views of older people are represented, older people form the backbone of many other organisations as well as voting and participating across Scottish society.
8. The membership of the Forum has changed over the years, and we would welcome suggestions on how it can better reflect the diversity of all Scotland's older people.
Older People and Age Team
9. The Older People and Age Team within the Scottish Government, has responsibility for the following areas
- Age Discrimination - responsibility for the legislation is reserved to Westminster
- All Our Futures - lead the development of the Scottish Government's response to the challenges and opportunities of a changing demography.
- Older People - a cross cutting role in briefing Ministers on older people's issues, and liaising with colleagues across the Scottish Government.
10. The Older People and Age Team has drawn heavily upon the input of the OPCF, and other relevant stakeholders in developing All Our Futures.
All Our Futures
11. In drafting All Our Futures, the Scottish Government recognises that Scotland needs to plan for a changing demography, this is a process with impacts across much of Scottish society, far wider than just existing older people. While the needs and potential of existing older people will be considered, planning also means considering the needs and potential of those who will become older, tackling such issues as ensuring that disadvantage is not allowed to persist into old age, and seeking to change our environment to better reflect our changing demography.
12. While we will continue to draw upon the views of older people and their representative organisations, including through the OPCF, the issues and the challenges of delivery that we face mean that we need to engage more widely than simply via the existing OPCF.
13. Proposals
- We commit to continuation of the OPCF, providing regular access to Ministers.
- Members of the OPCF should suggest ways in which the OPCF could better reflect the diversity of all Scotland's older people.
- We set up an implementation group to drive forward All Our Futures, with a Ministerial chair. This responds to calls from OPCF members for a high profile group to drive forward robust delivery of the All Our Futures strategy.
- Members of the OPCF nominate two members to represent older people on the Ministerial chaired implementation group, in addition to the Director of Help the Aged, and Chief Executive of Age Concern Scotland.
- We commence setting up working groups on key themes, and pieces of work. Current suggestions are attached at Annex A.
- Members consider additional areas for working groups, and contribute actively. We would be able to provide limited funding to support policy development work by stakeholders, particularly where effective networks could be demonstrated.
- We will focus on the following areas as a first priority
a. Setting up the Implementation Group
b. setting up a Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice
c. campaign to combat ageism
d. setting up a working group on Access to Services/Delivery of Services.
The following role and remit for the Older People's Consultative Forum is proposed, this is based upon the original remit when the Forum was established.
Role - We suggest that the Older People's Consultative Forum (OPCF) be renamed as the National Forum on Ageing - Older People's Consultative Forum acting as a reference group reviewing and commenting on the work of other groups, ensuring that the views of older people are considered. The OPCF could nominate members to attend other groups. Ministers are commited to continuing to chair the OPCF and it will continue in its current role in representing the views of older people to the Scottish Government.
Remit - the National Forum on Ageing - Older People's Consultative Forum will normally be chaired by a Minister of the Scottish Government
It will be:
- a means of communication between the Scottish Government and Scotland's older people
- a sounding board for policy which affects older people
- a source of advice for the Executive on identifying and responding to older people's needs and aspirations
- a means of providing feedback to the Executive on the impact of policies
The forum is intended to complement and improve the Scottish Government's existing methods of consulting and working with older people - not to replace them.
Other organisations or individuals may be invited by the Chairman to attend the forum where
necessary.
The remit is deliberately wide ranging and aimed at giving the forum enough flexibility to continue to evolve.
The suggested remit for the National Forum on Ageing - Implementation Group is:
· to implement and monitor the proposals and commitments set out in All Our Futures: Planning for a Scotland with an Ageing Population.
· In so doing, the National Forum on Ageing- Implementation Group will champion All Our Futures: Planning for a Scotland with an Ageing Population; will help take forward the development of the All Our Futures strategy through raising awareness, and by providing advice and assistance to all sectors in developing their responses to All Our Futures
The work of the National Forum on Ageing will be taken forward through a linked Implementation Group and the OPCF acting as a Reference Group.
Older People and Age Team
Scottish Government
November 2007
ANNEX A
Working groups
Access to Services / Delivery of Services - this would cover points made about the provision of services for older people in ethnic minorities; and about differences in service provision between different areas.
Campaign to combat ageism and promote more positive images of older people -
- John Wilson
- Liz Duncan
- Martin Brickley
- Kay Hutchinson
- Dawn Anderson
- Dr Gurudeo Saluja
- Elinor McKenzie
Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice
- Elinor McKenzie
- George Henderson
- Martin Brickley
Officials also promote the goals of All Our Futures through regular attendance at a variety of internal and external working groups and through networking with other organisations.
ANNEX B
Excerpt from note of the meeting on 27 September
National Forum on Ageing
The proposal for the Forum was that it would make use of existing networks and would establish short life working groups to undertake specific pieces of work. The following points/actions were made in discussion.
- The National Forum for Ageing would need to have a high profile/status and be relevant across a range of Government departments and Ministerial Portfolios.
- The National Forum would need a defined remit.
- it was suggested that setting outcomes would be beneficial to drive the strategy forward with local authorities, for example.
- Sub-groups were agreed in principle, particularly one on access to services/provision of services. This would cover points made about the provision of services for older people in ethnic minorities; and about differences in service provision between different areas.
- It was also agreed that a media/communications sub-group would be established. Volunteers for the group were - John Wilson, Liz Duncan, Martin Brickley, Kay Hutchison, Dawn Anderson, Dr Gurudeo Saluja and Elinor McKenzie.
- Officials agreed that they would circulate a paper to group members which would outline areas within All Our Futures where quick progress could be made. Members would be asked to consider this paper, identify priorities they felt the group could make an early impact on and also ones that they felt were better suited to influence through a period of time. One issue that was immediately flagged during discussion was income maximisation for older people.
In terms of other commitments within All Our Futures group members felt that a National Stakeholder event this year would not be beneficial and the general feeling was that an event in early spring 2008 would be more effective and could act a springboard to announce work on the National Forum for Ageing, the Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice and the anti ageism campaign. There was a request that a statement should be issued by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing to raise the importance of All Our Futures with local authorities.