Older People's Strategy - Newcastle City Council

48Newcastle City Council’s Welfare Rights Service and welfarerights officers within voluntary organisations provide adviceand support to enable older people to access the benefits thatthey are entitled to. The Pension Service also offers a range ofinformation and advice, including outreach sessions in thecommunity, to improve take-up. Despite this, many older peoplestill do not access the benefits they are entitled to – lack ofinformation, bureaucracy, intrusion into private affairs, not wantingto accept ‘charity’ are just some of the reasons for this. Targetedwelfare rights work, such as the 75+ GP referral scheme, workedwell in reaching people who do not otherwise receive theentitlements which make a very significant difference to their lives.There are a range of advice and information services in thecity, such as Citizens Advice and some specialist advice andinformation services for older people and carers such as thoseprovided by Age Concern Newcastle (citywide), Search Project(inner west), and Carers Centre Newcastle. However, with theincreasing emphasis on independence and choice, the currentprovision of advice, information and advocacy services forolder people is inadequate.For example, older people need good advice and supportwhen making important decisions about housing. The decisionto stay put or move on is complex. There is a need for acomprehensive advice service which offers advice andsupport with repairs, maintenance and adaptations and howto finance them, through to discussing whether to move, whereto and the process of moving. Elements of this service existwithin Newcastle, but a more comprehensive service is needed,with the capacity for one-to-one sessions.