Older People's Strategy - Newcastle City Council

17MainstreamingThis strategy will act as a catalyst for changing the waymainstream services are delivered to ensure that they meet theneeds and aspirations of older people set out in OpportunityAge and are focused on delivering the preventive agenda setout in the Adult Social Care Green Paper and Joint White Paper– Our health, our care, our say. This means changing the waymainstream services are planned and delivered to ensurethat they address the priorities of older people, includingsocially excluded older people, and ensure that there is noage discrimination in the way they operate. Designated leadsin key departments are being identified to lead this process.Developing the role of the voluntary and community sectorThe voluntary and community sector has a key role to playin the development and delivery of this strategy. This sectorencompasses a wide range of agencies, from community andvoluntary groups, to large and small registered charities, socialenterprises and co-operatives. These agencies are very activein Newcastle and are valued for their contribution to the localeconomy and the added value that they bring. The roles theyplay range from providing services, acting as advocates, orfacilitating and supporting the contribution of citizens asvolunteers or in paid employment, to running local campaignsand lobbying for change. The voluntary and community sectoris often a valuable source of innovation, which can helpimprove the quality of services by shaping service design andby pioneering new approaches that can influence the wayservices are delivered to older people and local communities.