Agenda item

The Board received presentations from Gary Jones, CEO of Age UK Camden, and Jacqueline Ede, Dementia Services Co-Ordinator for Age Exchange, after which Members of the Committee had the opportunity to ask questions.

Mr Jones advised the Committee that Age UK branches had historically been run with Local Authorities, but were now funded from a variety of organisations including Clinical Commissioning Groups, the National Lottery, donations, Local Authorities and legacies. Age UK Camden ran a number of wide-ranging services which reflected the diverse range of issues faced by older Londoners (e.g. social isolation, dementia, technology skills, transport, alcohol and drug misuse, cost/quality efficiencies, pensioner poverty, employment issues, etc.). Mr Jones also advised that Age UK Camden was about to celebrate its 50^th birthday with both a celebration and fundraiser, to raise awareness and resources for the work the charity undertakes.

Ms Ede built on Mr Jones’s presentation, sharing anonymised stories from Age Exchange, highlighting the importance of the work done in linking people in caring networks in order for them to support each other.

In response to Members’ queries regarding collaboration, Mr Jones advised that this was a balancing act between sharing similar services to reduce costs and ensuring local knowledge was retained. He reported that some Age UK branches had merged, while others shared back-office services and frontline specialisms. In response to a follow-up question, Mr Jones added that funders had a place in challenging organisations and encouraging collaboration, but the branches themselves knew to what degree this could be practically implemented.

Members discussed the objectivity and appropriateness of the financial advice being offered by Age UK Camden, and agreed that ensuring people were financially literate and able to make monetary decisions was key, particularly from an independent and objective advisory firm. Mr Jones advised this service was run by a regulated, well-reputed company, and no charge was made for the advice.

The Chairman thanked Mr Jones and Ms Ede for their presentations.