PAPER 6:2008
OLDER PEOPLE'S CONSULTATIVE FORUM
OLDER PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY OR CONGRESS
Background
1. At the Older People's Consultative Forum on 21 April, the Minister for Public Health (Shona Robison) floated the idea of holding an Older People's Assembly or Congress. She said the event:
- would initially be a one-off meeting, to debate issues of the day and have dialogue with Ministers;
- would bring together people from across Scotland;
- should be open in content, free ranging and not bureaucratic;
- should come from older people's organisations, and be organised by them - this is critical; and
· would be over and above All Our Futures and its regional stakeholder events, and distinct front the Older Peoples Consultative Forum.
2. Members of the Forum were asked to discuss the proposal with their organisations and provide feedback and suggestions on what the event would look like if they thought this was a worthwhile idea. They were also asked to consider the following points:
- there is a potential model in the London Older People's Assembly, which is organised in such a way that it ensures discussion is free flowing.
- it may be possible to hold an event on or around the UK Day for Older People, which is always 1 October.
- any use of the Scottish Parliament building is, of course, a matter for the Parliamentary authorities rather than the Government.
Responses
3. 9 responses were received from the following organisations -
- Age Concern Scotland (ACS)
- Alzheimer Scotland (AS)
- Broomton Road Seniors Club, Glasgow (BRSC)
- Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
- Dumfries and Galloway Elderly Forum (DGEF)
- The HUB
- Scottish Older Peoples Advisory Group (SOPAG)
- Scottish Seniors Alliance (SSA)
- Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS)
(HUB's response was an amalgamation of responses from 5 individuals and 4 groups within their network)
4. All respondents, apart from one individual, were in favour of the proposal to hold an Older People's Assembly or Congress.
5. It was felt that the event should be seen as a 'first step' towards having a meaningful consultative arena for older people in Scotland, and may well be valuable as a long term project. It was suggested it would be a good way of emphasising the Scottish Governments commitment to older people's issues as well as being a great story media-wise.
6. A number of respondents stressed the importance of the event being organised by older people's organisations with financial help from the Scottish Government.
7. Venue
- The Scottish Parliament building was the most popular suggestion from those that responded. It was suggested that the symbolic value of using the Parliament building would be enormous and would give a real sense of listening to Scotland's older people.
- Stirling and Perth were suggested, by the HUB, as suitable locations as they have good parking facilities and are neutral i.e. outwith the two main cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
- Regional assemblies were also suggested, by the Hub, as it was felt that they would be more accessible for people as travelling times for some people to, and from, Edinburgh could be prohibitive.
8. Date
- The Scottish Seniors Alliance, Dumfries and Galloway Elderly Forum and COSLA suggested that October 1 would be the most suitable date tying in with National (and International) Older People's Day.
- Responses from WRVS and COSLA did not suggest specific dates, but advised that it was important to take time to make sure that the event is properly organised and that the required resources are in place. COSLA also suggested that if the event is held too early that we may leave ourselves open to the criticism of giving too short a timescale and therefore deliberately disadvantaging some people.
- Alzheimers Scotland suggested that sometime in mid-late November would be a more suitable time to hold the event as it would allow more time for organisation.
- Age Concern Scotland suggested either summer 2009 or 2010.
Attendance
9. Suggestions regarding attendance at the event were wide and varied and are as follows -
- the First Minister should be invited to open a first event; though it should be stressed that spokespeople on older people's issues from all the parties should be invited to attend.
- invite one or two other Ministers with different remits to participate in the event, depending on the subjects being discussed.
- the event should not be dominated by a particular political party.
- there should be an understanding in the Government and the Parliament, that a Scottish Older Person's Assembly, as an annual event, is one that senior staff and senior politicians should attend if asked to do so.
- there should be representation from all 32 local authority areas, including representatives from smaller groups and forums (not just larger organisations that claim to speak for all of Scotland).
- suitable attendees could be accessed from organisation membership lists.
- it was suggested that the University of the Third Age (U3A) should be invited.
- should include representations from smaller groups and forums, and not just larger organisations that claim to speak for all of Scotland.
- the assembly should be broad and flexible and accessible to all of Scotland's older people's groups with the precise 'entitlement' to attend being agreed by the older people's groups on OPCF.
Format
10. Suggestions are as follows -
- A strong chairperson was seen as essential by several respondents.
- The most popular suggestion was that event should be based on the Irish or Scandinavian models, but with a distinctly Scottish flavour. Most respondents, who expressed a preference, were not in favour of following the format used for the London Assembly: Age Concern Scotland was the only respondent in favour of using this model.
- SOPAG and WRVS suggested it would be a good idea to collaborate with the Youth Parliament, and focus on common themes that would give a strong intergenerational flavour.
- SOPAG also suggested that we should perhaps make use of the Scottish Youth Theatre in a short 'Forum type' of drama raising matters which had previously been discussed and decided upon.
- Workshops and discussion groups were suggested by the HUB and SOPAG as a good way to gather people's views, but recognised that if there was a large attendance this may not be possible.
- clarity is needed
- about the objectives of the day and its limitations. Should there be a series of presentations, Q&A, a debate or a combination of all three?
- on how the assembly/congress would be distinct from All Our Futures and the OPCF.
· Age Concern Scotland commented that it would be important to demonstrate, on the day, why it is important to have a Scottish Congress with a remit tied into the powers of the Scottish Parliament and not the Westminster government. Its role could/should cut across policy areas, to ensure impact on older people is taken into account - in effect strengthening the age equality agenda.
Suggested topics for discussion/agenda
11. It was highlighted that older people are interested in a wide range of subjects, not just health and wellbeing and financial matters. The event would have a wide range of possibilities from which to choose exciting topics for discussion.
12. Suggested topics for discussion were -
- poverty
- transport
- rural issues
- community engagement
- Community Planning and development
- Lifelong Learning - active ageing and wellbeing
- ecological and environmental issues
- heritage
- housing and a "House for Life"
- crime and the fear of crime
- Free Personal Care
- All Our Futures
- Sutherland Report
- The agenda should be determined by the OPCF older people's group members and should be relevant to the powers and policies of the Scottish Government.
· Issues arising in relation to Human Rights of Older People which are currently to the fore in relation to: care home residents, rights of carers in relation to ECHR and other health and community care issues
· Latest developments for example, in government policy, social research, in relation to dementia and carers, what more needs to be done, given the demographics and high percentage of 'old-old' who develop dementia and the impact on their carers, often spouses or retired sons and daughters.
Who would organise
13. A number of different suggestions as to who would take on the role were made and are as follows:-
- Four respondents suggested that the Irish or Scandinavian models would be the best to use. The National Pensioners Convention organised a Northern Ireland event, and has also organised 16 similar events in England.
- Four organisations suggested that the event should be organised by older people's organisations with finance from the Scottish Government.
- One respondent suggested that The Scottish Seniors Alliance should be asked to organise in conjunction with the Older People and Age Team in the Scottish Government (this did not come from the organisation itself).
- Any event would require help from the Government with the logistics and media coverage.
- Other agencies should not be allowed to step in 'on behalf of older people'. They could, however be asked to assist older people to arrange and present the day.
- Organisations represented on the OPCF should form a steering committee to organise the event, with funding from the Scottish Government. It would mean that older people's organisations would have to take full responsibility for the event, have to work together to make it happen and determine the agenda for themselves. This would be an opportunity for older people's organisations and charities in Scotland to work together.
14. A number of detailed suggestions were made about the logistics on the day, but are not included in this summary.
Older People and Age Team
Scottish Government
September 2008