Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

Regional Social Strategy – the strategy to achieve social inclusion throughout the East of England
Case study 19
Warmer homes for older people
Western Suffolk Local Strategic Partnership is in the process of developing a targeted referral system
for vulnerable older people who are suffering from fuel poverty.
The project will provide a single referral point to access help through the Government’s Warm Front
scheme, ultimately aiming to alleviate fuel poverty. Home visitors, including those who refer through
Home Shield (Case Study 17 above), will be trained to recognise fuel poverty and to advise on help
which is available.
A similar scheme has been set up by Luton Borough Council and partners and is underpinned by the
Borough’s Affordable Warmth Strategy. Building on the success of this project, Luton Borough Council
now advises other local authorities on setting up affordable warmth schemes and is a member of the
Government’s Fuel Poverty Advisory Group. The importance of the project has been acknowledged by
the fact that Luton’s local area agreement now contains three targets relating to affordable warmth.
The Government has set out a series of National Service Frameworks intended to drive up standards in health
and social services. The National Service Framework for Older People was established in 2001 and aims to
improve services for older people by focusing on:
• rooting out age discrimination (SO5: 2)
• providing person-centred care
• promoting older people’s health and independence (SO5: 4)
• fitting services around people’s needs (SO5: 1).
The Social Services Inspectorate has since identified the need for further work by Social Services
departments to address the gaps in provision for certain groups such as older people with mental
health difficulties, visual and other sensory impairments and older people from ethnic minorities
(Health Inequalities: a programme for action, Department of Health, 2003).
Many local authorities operate ‘passport to leisure’ schemes or offer concessionary rates for older people
wanting to remain active. There are also a number of examples around the region of sports centres working
in partnership with local primary care trusts (PCTs) and other health agencies to offer a range of sports and
recreational facilities (SO5: 4).
ii) Income
Given the increased risk of poverty for those people who stop working before state retirement age, there is
a general policy shift towards promoting the participation of older people in the labour market (SO2: 6).
The Government has proposed making later retirement more financially attractive by increasing the public
sector retirement age and giving employers greater flexibility in determining retirement age. Other
organisations such as PRIME are working to help over-50s to set up in business.
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