Agenda item

This report highlights the issue of Social Inclusion and loneliness in the borough.

Sue Spiller introduced and summarised the report.  She outlined the key challenge which was identifying those most at risk and shared information about successful creative projects such as “Men in Sheds”.

Sue Spiller also talked about the causes of loneliness which were not always consistent or obvious to work out.  She also talked about the measures that were in place and the other initiatives that the council was working on, including responding to the duties set out in the Care Act 2014.

In conclusion she discussed the next steps for officers which included a workshop on addressing Loneliness and Isolation being held in April, and a proposal from Bryan Naylor to host a broader conference on the subject later in the year.  A range of initiatives are contributing to this area of work, including the 4^th annual Silver Sunday campaign in October.  Further work will be done by officers to look at how improved joining up of services will support a more coordinated prevention strategy across the council, health and voluntary sector.

Bryan Naylor commented that the biggest issues was identifying people and talked about the freedom pass data being a start point.  In response Sue Spiller confirmed that freedom pass information was subject to data protection and the council’s ability to use it for broader communication purposes was extremely limited.  Sue Spiller also noted that the 2014 Silver Sunday campaign had included distributing a printed Silver Sunday guide to all over 60s through the Older People’s Freedom Pass database.  However, the Silver Sunday campaign was expensive to produce (£14,000 for the event programme printing and distribution and £5,000 for small grants for local Silver Sunday events), but the net result was that only 30 new individuals are known to have taken up activities or joined groups as a result of the scheme

Bryan Naylor also noted that the ‘Time of Your Life’ event, was successful in reaching large numbers of local older people, but is an expensive event to run.

Councillor Carlebach gave the example of an elderly person who was locked out of her home and the difficulty in getting her access despite both housing and health partners being aware of her situation. 

Councillor Brown stated he felt the issue was not just identifying people but convincing them to join in and making the offer universally interesting enough to appeal to a wide range of audiences.  He also suggested that asking people to help was a subtle way to address the issue of loneliness.

Sue Spiller responded that a range of organisations have different approaches which can be successful.  She spoke about the Co-op and how they had impacted the local community through noticing isolated customers in their stores and enabling staff to provide broader support and assistance.

Councillor Perez commented that advice centres and agencies as well as third sector organisations were the first places people went for support. Sue Spiller responded that whilst many local organisations are in touch with local residents who enjoy the activities and services they offer, for many, the offer of the more traditional support and activities is perceived negatively, and a new approach is needed which provides isolated residents with opportunities to contribute and help others and by doing so, help themselves.

Bryan Naylor suggested the idea of getting people interested in renovating furniture. He also talked about the avoidance of stereotyping people by offering bingo and canteen food.

Councillor Fennimore commented that she felt it was necessary to go back to basics and that with the campaign to end loneliness there could be digital inclusion. She also felt it was important to look at what was being offered and to consider financial need. 

The Chair Councillor Rory Vaughan thanked officers for the report and stated that there was a need to agree ways of identifying those at risk and to help them identify themselves. He also noted the connectivity of services was important and the challenge was to bring about positive change. 

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.