I hope it will soon become the norm for the old to be part of the mainstream of daily life
Is it something in the air of Halifax? Or is it in the air more generally? I suspect the latter. Millions of television viewers will be there tonight – Halifax that is – watching as Celia marries Alan, both in their seventies. The BBC television series Last Tango in Halifax, is a universal success, enjoyed by old and young alike. And in that sense marks something of a tipping point.
25 November 2013 Last updated at 07:10
Joseph Day, who has been using the service, said that he found losing his wife almost unbearable
A free 24-hour dedicated helpline for older people across the UK has been launched by Esther Rantzen.
‘The Silver Line’ aims to combat loneliness in the over-65s by providing friendship, information and advice through calls to trained volunteers.
Chairwoman Ms Rantzen said she hoped the phone line number, 0800 4 70 80 90, would be remembered by all older people when they needed friendship or advice.
The phone line is funded by a £5m grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
Councils may have to outsource low-level assessments to free up social workers for more complex cases and deal with a big hike in demand arising from care funding reforms.
That was the message from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass), the Local Government Association (LGA) and council chief executives’ body Solace, in their response to the government’s consultation on the reforms, under the Care Bill.
Councils are expected to assess an additional 180,000 to 230,000 people and carry out an additional 440,000 to 530,000 reviews in 2016-17, because the reforms will incentivise many more self-funders to approach their council.
Only by having their needs assessed and regularly reviewed will self-funders be able to take advantage of the £72,000 cap on their eligible care costs that is the centrepiece of the government’s funding reforms. This would provide them with an “independent personal budget”, setting out what their council would spend on their care if it were meeting it, which would accumulate in a “care account” until they reached the cap.
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