TP296 The Pensioner Magazine Spring 2024

Spring 2024 / Issue 296 / www.cspa.co.uk

THE MAGAZINE FOR MEMBERS OF THE CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONERS’ ALLIANCE

International Longevity Centre: finding a way forward for the older generation

After retirement: we hear from a recent retiree who’s become a museum exhibit

Later Life Ambitions: forging ahead with our manifesto

Bad customer service?

There’s a lot of it about

Group and branch updates

Readers’ letters

Computer helpdesk

Puzzles

Contents

Welcome

W

elcome to the spring edition of The Pensioner in this year of elections.

If we haven’t had a general election in the UK by the end of the year, then full campaigning will be under way for one that must be held by next January. Local elections, including those for mayors and crime and police commissioners, take place in May. And across the pond, there will be a presidential election come the autumn.

There are lots of votes to play for and the CSPA and partner organisations will be pressing for the interests of older people and those who rely on a pension.

The years since the last general election have been tough, ranging from the pandemic and lockdown to war in Europe, the cost-of-living crisis and spiralling energy costs.

Let’s hope things can only get better.

In this edition of the magazine, our cover of Basil Fawlty sets the tone for a sobering look at the woeful state of customer service.

Meanwhile, we look at the future of ageing and a focus on health rather than years. We also have a nice tale of how retirement saw one former union spin doctor turned teaching assistant become a museum exhibit.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the magazine – and do keep in touch with us. We’re always looking for letters and branch news.

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NEWS ROUND-UP 4 Latest developments, plus a call-out to members in two regions GENERAL SECRETARY Sally Tsoukaris on the CSPA’s AGM priorities and the LLA manifesto

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CUSTOMER SERVICE 13 Banks, airlines, phone operators and more... letting down their customers CLIMATE CHANGE 16 Environmental action is an issue for the younger and older generations DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY 18 David Luxton focuses on the new tax predicament for pensioners

LIFE AFTER RETIREMENT 31 Richard O’Brien has ended up as a historical artefact

BRANCH AND GROUP NEWS 21 A look at the recent activities of local groups and what lies ahead for 2024

PARLIAMENTARY SYNOPSIS 33 Our regular roundup of political manoeuvres in the UK parliaments

FUTURE OF AGEING 26 International Longevity Centre maps out a route to a longer, happier life

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR More views and clarifications

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WILL WRITING Bernard Seymour warns against a DIY approach to drafting a will

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CONNECT 28 The ongoing battle against ageism

HELPDESK 41 A reminder of IT housekeeping tasks CROSSWORD & SODUKO 43-44 Your chance to win a £50 M&S voucher

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CHRIS PROCTOR 45 His latest bugbear: pointless signs CONTACT US

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ISSN - 1360-3132

Head Office, Grosvenor House, 125 High Street, Croydon CR0 9XP 020 8688 8418 enquiries@cspa.co.uk www.cspa.co.uk

Editor: Christine Buckley editor@cspa.co.uk 020 8688 8418 Changes of address or other information enquiries@cspa.co.uk or 020 8688 8418

General Secretary: Sally Tsoukaris sally.tsoukaris@cspa.co.uk 020 8688 8418

Freepost RTRX-RKUY-SELT

Published by: Square7 Media Ltd Publisher: Gaynor Garton Advertising sales: Ethan Hall hello@square7media.co.uk Editorial production: Kate Wheal Design and art direction: Charlotte Russell Front cover photograph: © BBC Archive

Please send branch news and parliamentary reports or any other contributions for the winter edition to the editor by 28 March 2024. Branches and groups with initials A C E G I K M O Q S U W Y are invited to contribute – email editor@cspa.co.uk And if you need extra time to submit a report, please email the editor.

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News

Alan Wingrove: a tribute We were all very sad to hear of the passing of Alan Wingrove at the grand old age of 96, Brian Sturtevant writes. Alan was a member of the CSPA Executive Council and assistant editor of The Pensioner magazine until 2010. He was also an active member of the Farnborough Group.

Before retirement Alan was a principal scientific officer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough. He was also active in his union IPCS – later IPMS and then Prospect – and he became chair of the union’s science committee.

When he retired, he joined the CSPA and gave us the benefit of his considerable intellect – he was known as a deep thinker but with a great sense of humour.

When the CSPA was modernising The Pensioner magazine under the editorship of Alan Perkins, Alan provided his expert and detailed knowledge of IT to ensure the transfer to a digital format was a success. On one occasion he produced the magazine when the editor was unavailable.

When Ralph Groves took over as editor, Alan continued to assist him until 2010, when he stepped down to enjoy a well-

deserved retirement. All of us who knew him recognised him as a public servant of the old school, sharing positive, sensible and helpful comments – something we are desperately missing in society today. He would have had some suitable comments about the current Post Office scandal.

We enjoyed his company, especially after meetings with a pint or two. Alan was an excellent human being; we are all the better off knowing him and his delightful company. We send his widow Lucy our deepest sympathies. Rest in Peace Alan.

Identity check issues

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The CSPA achieved a gross surplus of around £90,000 in 2023, according to early estimates.

This is a vast improvement on the deficit in 2022 and better than expected in last year’s budget.

The final statement of accounts will be published with the Annual Report in the next issue.

Please keep us up to date

Alan was an excellent human being; we are all better off knowing him

Members’ pensions are payable for the rest of their life. To reduce the potential of fraud occurring or overpayments being made, most UK schemes check against death lists and randomly check by asking a sample of scheme members to confirm their identity. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, they may suspend payments.

This is easily avoided by filling in the form. Any members suspicious of

CSPA heading for surplus

scams, should contact MyCSP or us at the CSPA to check.

In January, the Guardian reported on retired teacher Eileen McGrath, who had her pension payments stopped four times because her pension provider refused to accept she was not dead. The check against deaths kept throwing up her name.

The CSPA will be asking questions to make sure that this problem does not occur in the civil service scheme.

Have you changed your address or other details?

Please let us know so that we can keep in touch. You can do this on the website or contact us at CSPA head office: Grosvenor House, 125, High Street, Croydon CRO 9XP, tel: 0208 688 8418 or email: enquiries@cspa.co.uk.

Scottish members contact Michael Kirby tel: 07969405263 or email: michael.kirby@cspa.co.uk.

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News

Joining us at the national AGM

Improving our AGM – we want your views The Executive Council has established a working party, with group representation, to review the format and representation basis of the AGM and explore ways of making our democratic structures more accessible and inclusive.

We would welcome the views of individual members, as well as local groups, for consideration by the working

Individuals or groups should contact us by no later than 21 March party at its next meeting on 3 April. The issues on which we would welcome your views include the following questions: • Are you satisfied with the current format and representative structure of the national AGM? • How can the AGM best reflect the views of individual members in England and Wales who no longer have a local group in their area to attend?

• How can we encourage wider interest and engagement with the AGM for policy decisions and elections?

• Would you be interested in watching the AGM if it were livestreamed online?

• What would you consider the

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advantages or disadvantages of holding the AGM every two years, not annually?

• What are your views on different AGM formats, such as virtual AGMs with online voting (annually or biannually)?

• Should the existing right for individual members to attend the AGM (at their own expense or at a subsidised rate) be formalised into a set allocation of individual delegate places for members not attached to local groups?

• As well as group/branch representatives, should places be reserved for regionally nominated members who are not in a local group?

• If your local group does not regularly attend the AGM, would the group be likely to attend an event held online?

These questions are not intended to be an exhaustive list, but your responses would help to inform the working party and EC of the views of individual members, groups and branches.

Comments can be emailed directly to Deputy General Secretary David Luxton at david.luxton@cspa.co.uk or send in the post to: CSPA, 8th Floor, Grosvenor House, Croydon CR0 9XP. Please ensure your comments arrive at CSPA head office no later than 21 March so that they can be collated in time for consideration by the working party at their next meeting on Wednesday 3 April.

Individual CSPA members have always been able to attend our Annual General Meeting, although historically not many who are not part of group or branch delegations have done so.

The CSPA’s Executive Council has recognised that many members are no longer covered by active groups and branches that can send delegates to the AGM. We will be able to provide more information about the supportive arrangements to be put in place for members who are not part of active groups or branches to attend the AGM in the Summer issue of The Pensioner.

In the meantime, any member who is not part of an active group or branch but may be interested in attending the AGM – to be held on 9-10 October at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth, Warwickshire – should contact us at CSPA head office by telephoning 020 8688 8418 or emailing enquiries@cspa.co.uk.

We plan to help individual members come to the AGM

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News As a CSPA member you are entitled to a wide range of membership benefits, including free initial legal advice, exclusive discounts on cruises, travel insurance, shopping discounts, free help with any computer problems and much more.

Advice on wills, trusts, probate, powers of attorney We are pleased to announce a new benefit offering members help with wills, trusts and powers of attorney, provided by Harvey Howell Solicitors in conjunction with our partners at Affinity Resolutions.

Harvey Howell can be contacted by calling 0330 175 9959 or emailing info@harveyhowell.co.uk – quote CSPA. You can read further information about the services offered by Harvey Howell in their advert in this issue of The Pensioner (page 32). In addition, Harvey Howell Solicitors has arranged free seminars in the North West for CSPA members: • Manchester, 15 March, 2pm, Copthorne Hotel, Salford Quays, Manchester M50 3SN • Warrington, 9 April, 2pm, Village Hall, Central Park Square, Warrington WA3 1QA • Liverpool, 30 April, 2pm, Liner Hotel, Lord Nelson Street, Liverpool L3 5QB.

The full range of benefits can be viewed at www.cspa.co.uk

Check out our new member benefits Members not in the North West area can find more information on the Harvey Howell website: www.harveyhowell.co.uk or telephone them on the number given.

Other member benefits The CSPA also offers many other benefits, which can be viewed by logging on to our website www.cspa.co.uk. These benefits are listed below.

Free initial legal advice through the following solicitors: • Members in England and Wales call Lyons Davidson Solicitors, quoting CSPA, 01752 300 584 • In Scotland, call Thompsons Solicitors: 0300 123 6666, giving your CSPA number • In Northern Ireland, call McTartan, Turkington & Breen: 02890 329801

Discounts on cruises • Fred.Olsen Cruises offers a 5% CSPA discount in addition to Fred.Olsen’s 5%

Ocean Loyalty Club. For the latest deals visit: www.fredolsencruises.com/ last-minute-cruise-deals or telephone: 0800 0355 144.

• Wendy Wu Tours offers a 10% discount to CSPA members booking a Mekong River Cruise. Visit www.wendywutours. co.uk/victoria-mekong or call 0800 035 5091 quoting the code: CSPA 10.

Travel insurance Call the Civil Service Insurance Society (CSiS) on 01622 766960 quoting your CSPA number.

Free help and support on personal computer problems Contact the BC Technologies helpline on 01369 706656 quoting the CSPA. For more information on these and many other shopping discounts, log onto the CSPA website: www.cspa.co.uk or call CSPA head office on 0208 688 8418.

Have you visited our members-only website?

As part of your CSPA membership not only do you have access to a wealth of benefits, help, advice and the quarterly magazine but you also have access to our dedicated members-only website.

It has everything you need to know, from information on our exclusive members benefits and how to claim them to what’s going on in your local group. The active news section is updated numerous times a week with details of our campaign activity plus useful information, help and advice from us and our trusted partners.

You can also read The Pensioner magazine, regional and group newsletters and advice factsheets, or update your personal details such as address and phone number.

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If you’ve visited before, simply go to www.cspa.co.uk, enter your email address and hit ‘reset password’ if you’ve forgotten it. Never visited before? Don’t worry it’s easy to set yourself up. Email us at enquiries@cspa.co.uk or give us a call on 020 8688 8418 and we will get you started.

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News

Let’s stay in touch!

With the number of active groups in some areas decreasing, two CSPA regional representatives have organised meetings so that members can keep in contact

South West Region

We now only have four active groups – Bath, Bristol, Plymouth and the one I chair, East Devon. As directed by the 2023 national conference, regional representatives like me will be doing all we can to ensure members in our area can be as fully represented as possible.

The eight closed groups in the South West include Bridport, North Devon, Swindon, Taunton, Torbay, West Cornwall, Weston Super Mare and recently Weymouth. Your Executive Committee believes members in these group areas should be given the opportunity to have their say as much as possible. They should also be able to discuss with their regional

representative how best they could be represented to ensure CSPA issues in their locality are covered.

In the first instance, I therefore wish to invite any member living in the closed group areas to join me in a friendly online chat via Zoom on Tuesday 23 April at 7.30pm to discuss the best way forward.

So that you can join me for that meeting, I need to issue you with a Zoom link to click on at that time. Please send me your email address – which I will keep secure – as soon as possible, so that I can send you the necessary link.

I look forward to your support and expect the meeting to last no more than one hour.

Les Calder, regional representative Email: landmcalder@btinternet.com Tel: 01626 830266

North West Region

To members who would belong to one of the following groups – Blackpool & Fylde, Cumbria North, East Lancashire, Morecambe Bay and Preston & Chorley – I have been promising for some time to arrange a visit in each of your areas.

The objective is to give you the opportunity to meet me as your regional representative and hopefully to encourage anyone who would be interested in restarting their group to do so.

We are conscious of costs and the fact that membership subscriptions increased this year, so we have taken the decision to advertise these meetings in The Pensioner

Harry Brett, regional representative email: h_brett@sky.com tel: 07999 874864

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as opposed to writing individually to each member. I am sure you agree that, as every member receives The Pensioner, this is a much more cost-effective method of reaching you, especially as many of you are content with the present arrangements with non-active groups.

However, it is the Executive Committee’s view that you should at least have the opportunity to meet your regional representative and discuss options. So I have arranged five meetings in coffee shops in your area, as set out right.

All the meetings are from 1pm to 3pm.

Please come and have a cup of coffee with me if you can.

• Blackpool, Thursday 4 April Quilligans Café Bar, Winter Gardens, 89-93 Church Street, Blackpool FYI 1HU • Blackburn, Thursday 11 April Costa Coffee, Blackburn Shopping Centre, Unit 49, 21 Cobden Court, Blackburn BB1 7JG • Carlisle, Thursday 9 May (note change of date) Costa Coffee, 2 Court Square, Carlisle CA1 1QX • Morecambe, Thursday 25 April Costa Coffee, 219 Marine Road West, Morecambe LA4 4BU • Preston, Thursday 2 May Starbucks, Fishergate Shopping Centre, Preston PRI 8HJ

Please send us advance dates for group meetings, whether or not it’s your turn for a report in the branch section of the magazine, and we will include them in the branch pages. Just email editor@cspa.co.uk as usual.

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General secretary

General secretary's

Report Sally Tsoukaris

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s I write, I look forward to longer days and shorter nights, the first daffodils and bluebells and other signs of spring. I am not a fan of the cold and look forward to walking freely across expanses of grass without wellies!

At CSPA headquarters we are as busy as ever. We continue to work with the Cabinet Office, MyCSP, Later Life Ambitions and other partners on behalf of members. These working relationships are crucial to ensure we make the most of our collective strengths, working towards shared objectives, to make later life better for older people in general, and for CSPA members in particular.

Earth Day (www.earthday.org) on 22 April offers us a chance to reflect on the state of our planet and what we can do, even in small ways, to make a difference to the legacy we leave.

There are misconceptions among some younger people

that we have lived well – at the planet’s expense – without caring about their future and quality of life, not to mention impending environmental catastrophe.

I say ‘misconceptions’ as, in my experience, many of us care very much indeed. Perhaps in communicating our shared concerns for the planet’s future, we can build bridges across the generational divide? I hope you find Kath Grant’s article on page 16 thought-provoking in this respect.

CSPA Annual General Meeting 2024 Our next Annual General Meeting will be held on 9-10 October at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth, Warwickshire. Groups and branches will be invited to submit motions for discussion and nominations to the Executive Council and Standing Orders Committee in due course. The deadline for receipt of motions and nominations is 5 July.

Earth Day on 22 April is a chance to reflect on our planet

Don Makepeace steps down Our longstanding colleague and former CSPA Chair Don Makepeace has confirmed his decision to withdraw from the Executive Council and his Vice Chair role because of continued ill health. We extend our thanks and appreciation to Don for all his work over the years, and wish him all the best as he convalesces.

Election procedures are under way to fill the Vice Chair vacancy and we hope we will have an update by the end of April.

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Update on CSPA finances Mike Sparham, National Treasurer, has advised that the CSPA achieved a gross surplus of about £90,000 in 2023, according to early estimates. This is a vast improvement on the deficit in 2022, and better than anticipated in the budget for the year January to December 2023. The final statement of accounts will be set out in the Annual Report in the summer issue of The Pensioner.

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General secretary

Putting our AGM priorities into action We are now as certain as we can that 2024 will see a general election, and we are working to maintain pressure on the main political parties to preserve the triple-lock, a mechanism increasingly coming under fire, to ensure state pensions continue to increase in line with inflation.

We are highlighting this, and CSPA members’ concerns about the Over 80s Age Addition and Christmas Bonus in our Later Life Ambitions (LLA) manifesto Standing by Pensioners (see overleaf).

In supporting the triple-lock, we remain aware of assertions that this may precipitate an earlier increase in the state pension age. Chris Haswell, our Pensions and Personal Case Manager, wrote about this in the Winter issue in ‘68 is too late’.

CALL FOR COMMISSIONERS Fellow campaigners at Independent Age are calling for Commissioners for Older People and Ageing in Scotland and in England. We have seen how successful this form of cross-governmental working can be in Wales and Northern Ireland.

I recently met Independent Age Chief Executive Joanna Elson, who gave evidence on the rights of older people to the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) in January, including the benefits of having commissioners. Others giving evidence were Caroline Abrahams, Charity

What are we doing?

• Making representations on behalf of CSPA members, writing to ministers, MPs, Lords and others, meeting them at every opportunity • Getting questions asked in the House of Commons on our behalf • Lobbying the main political parties, under the banner of Later Life Ambitions, to consider our demands in their election pledges • Engaging with Age UK, Independent Age, the Charity for Civil Servants, Carers UK, the National Pensioners Convention and others to add our voice to

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Director for Age UK, Carole Easton, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, and Helena Herklots, Older People’s Commissioner for Wales. For more on the WEC inquiry see https://committees. parliament.uk/work/7930/the-rights-ofolder-people/.

Independent Age has a petition calling for commissioner posts in England and

Independent Age has a petition calling for a commissioner. Do sign it Scotland. Find out more about the petition and sign it here – www.independentage. org/campaigning/commissioner – or you can request a paper copy by calling 020 7605 4200.

DIGITAL EXCLUSION A significant proportion of older people continue to be negatively affected by not having access to a smartphone or the internet at home – whether due to a lack of confidence or IT skills, the high cost of devices and broadband services, or because they choose not to be online.

CSPA members, and many others, continue to raise concerns about the extended use of parking payment apps in replacement of card or

their campaigns for older people • Raising the CSPA’s profile online by using our website and social media platforms to highlight issues and communicate about our campaigns.

What can members do?

• If you are part of a CSPA group or branch, attend their meetings and get involved in our campaigns locally.

• You can book an appointment to see your MP or write to them on issues you feel strongly about, to let them know how you feel. Use the LLA election toolkit (www.laterlifeambitions.co.uk ) to help you do this

cash payment facilities, to mention just one example. Even contacting one’s local authority or county council is becoming increasingly difficult without access to their online portals.

The number of high-street bank branches dwindles ever faster, and the promised rollout of ‘banking hubs’ to replace them is not keeping pace. Barrie Clement’s article in the last issue of The Pensioner tackled this problem, which is affecting communities all over the UK. We continue to speak out about how society’s growing reliance on the internet impacts the elderly, and to emphasise the need for health, financial and other service providers to offer alternative ways of communicating and conducting business.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE We are frustrated by the government’s reluctance to face up to the dire need to rethink, redesign and roll out a properly funded national health and social care framework to alleviate pressure on the NHS and ensure a more effective transition between hospitals and community-based care.

The CSPA and LLA will be co-signing a letter on this to the health minister – more about this in the next issue.

• Check you are eligible and registered to vote at your current address (www.gov.uk/ register-to-vote).

• Check the ID requirements for voting as these have changed and photo ID is required (www.gov.uk/ how-to-vote/photo-id-youll-need).

• Register for postal voting (www. gov.uk/apply-postal-vote) or vote in person.

If you are not online and cannot get the information you need, call your local electoral registration officer (your council should have contact details) or the Electoral Commission on 0333 103 1928.

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PENSIONS AND RELATED MATTERS

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General secretary

Standing by Pensioners – a manifesto Sally Tsoukaris on a charter for change

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n late 2022, the Later Life Ambitions partners started work on a manifesto to support campaigns by clearly setting out the six main pillars of our joint ‘asks’ of decision-makers: • The need for Commissioners for Older People and Ageing posts to be established in England and Scotland (Northern Ireland and Wales already have them) • Demands for a national social care service, integrated with the NHS, that remains free at the point of delivery • For the UK government and devolved administrations to implement strategies to combat digital technology’s role in excluding access to services and increasing social isolation • All political parties to make election manifesto commitments to guarantee the state pension triple-lock for the duration of the next parliament at least • For all new homes to be required to match (or better) the Lifetime Homes Standard, with a national strategy for delivering more adaptable, accessible homes across all tenures • Investment in local bus and rail services to deliver uprated concessions, improved accessibility, adequate assistance and facilities for older people across public transport networks.

The manifesto was sent to all sitting

We are engaging with MPs and others to hold follow-up meetings

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Left to right: Eamonn Donaghy (NFOP), Sally Tsoukaris (CSPA), Richard Critchley (NARPO), David Luxton (CSPA) and Alan Lees (NARPO)

MPs, Lords, mayors, council leaders and others in positions of influence just prior to its launch in November 2023, and has been endorsed by our colleagues at Age UK, Independent Age, the NPC, National Association of Retired Firefighters, Unison and other organisations.

The parliamentary launch was well attended by representatives from across the party political spectrum, and speakers included our host, Sir Stephen Timms (Labour, chair of the Work and Pensions Committee), Gill Furniss (Labour, shadow pensions minister), David Linden (SNP, social justice spokesperson), Sammy Wilson (DUP), Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru, work and pensions spokesperson) and Claire Hanna (SDLP).

Sixties pop star Sandie Shaw added a dash of celebrity sparkle and helped to draw media attention to our event and manifesto. Ms Shaw spoke enthusiastically

in support of Later Life Ambitions and our work in campaigning on behalf of older people.

We are currently engaging with MPs including Sir Stephen Timms, David Linden and others to hold follow-up meetings, providing LLA representatives opportunities to brief them on our campaigns and manifesto demands. We have already received many encouraging indications of support.

CSPA members can view or download the LLA manifesto from our website (www.cspa.co.uk) or visit the Later Life Ambitions website (www.laterlifeambitions.co.uk) for more information.

Members who would prefer to have a printed copy posted to them are welcome to call us at CSPA headquarters (tel: 020 8688 8418).

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Customer service

Can somebody help us...?

Barrie Clement throws up his hands at the slow, unstoppable demise of customer service

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eing a customer of the big companies these days is bad for your mental health. Trying to speak to a human being, or deal with one of their loathsome ‘bots’, can lead to anything from frustration to wild rage.

The number of complaints is rocketing.

A customer satisfaction index published by the UK Institute of Customer Service, reported an overall index of 76.6 out of

100, the lowest since 2015, when it was 76.

Which? magazine is undertaking major new research into the issue. An email introducing the idea of a survey to Which? subscribers comments: “Whether you’re contesting sky-high energy bills or sluggish broadband speeds, all too often you’re left on hold, stuck in a loop with a chatbot, or simply ignored on social media. Contacting companies has

become something of an endurance test … Something needs to be done about it.”

Hear! Hear!

Flights of fancy Clearly some sectors are better than others. Short-haul airlines, quite rightly, come in for a kicking. Ryanair once famously floated the idea of charging passengers to use the on-board

Trying to deal with one of those loathsome bots can lead to wild rage

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Customer service toilet. Customers were incandescent and the idea was dropped. There is now speculation that the airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, who often shows a jocular contempt for his customers, may yet introduce the charge.

I was forced to use the airline recently to go from Stansted to La Rochelle and back.

They always try some money-making artifice to make you pay more than you envisaged. This time Ryanair declared they didn’t recognise the company through which I’d booked the flights and I’d have to ‘verify’ my identity. I’d accessed the tickets, by the way, through the muchused Skyscanner website.

Inevitably, Ryanair makes identity verification online something of a trial.

After trying and failing, I enlisted the aid of my computer-savvy 39-year-old son. You have to supply a photo of your passport or some other means of ID and, using your computer, you also have to take pictures of your face looking forward, to the left and to the right. One of the pictures was rejected by the bot because I had a smirk on my face.

After an expletive-ridden hour, my son managed it. If he had failed, Ryanair would have charged me £50 at the airport.

In its article on the best and worst airlines last year, Which? said: “Ryanair regularly sits at the bottom of our table, and only escapes last place this year through the horrendous experience offered

by Wizz Air.” Ryanair’s three stars for customer service was “notably better than Wizz, and the same as better regarded rivals like British Airways and EasyJet; although less than half of passengers said they could find a member of Ryanair staff when they faced delays”.

It added: “Ryanair boasts about rockbottom fares, which may be true, but its three-star rating for value for money gives a more accurate picture of the total price.

Add in bags, or seats, or anything, and the cost quickly shoots up. Do your maths first before booking to see if better rivals like Jet2, which includes a much larger free luggage allowance, are cheaper.”

Road block On the subject of transport 54-year-old financial director Clive from Shropshire brings us his tale of exasperation.

At 4pm one day, his

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campervan broke down in Wales, just over the border from Oswestry. He called the RAC, who said that because Clive had a small child with him, someone would be there within the hour. An hour later, Clive rang them – and they said they were ‘escalating’ it, whatever that means. Not a great deal as it turns out.

Two hours later, they were still escalating. After three hours, escalating for all their worth, they said there were no patrols in the area. After another hour, Clive rang again and was delighted to hear that escalation was still in progress and someone would be with them by 8.30pm.

At 8pm the RAC said one of their ‘trusted partners’ would come to the rescue.

Finally, at 10pm – six hours after he first rang the RAC – the cavalry arrived from Aberystwyth – 76 miles away.

Said Clive: “When I asked the RAC why they didn’t phone their ‘trusted partner’ in the first place, they didn’t even bother answering! We have joined the AA.” That was probably a good choice, according to Which? magazine. In its best car breakdown providers 2023, the AA received a score of 75 per cent, second to Asda (77 per cent). The RAC was 14th on the list with an unimpressive 52 per cent.

Hidden helplines Many companies like to hide their ‘customer helpline’ phone numbers from the prying eyes of customers. Recently the editor of The Pensioner magazine, Christine Buckley, booked tickets for her and her daughter Anastasia to see the England women’s football team at Wembley. The tickets failed to arrive.

Many companies like to hide their ‘customer helpline’ numbers

Christine said: “I sent a message on a ‘help portal’ and an auto reply said to get in touch two days before the game, but there was no phone number. I searched for a contact number on the website, to no avail. I could only find one to book a tour of the stadium and one for help with disabilities. So I called the disabilities out of desperation.

“After quite a wait, someone answered and I asked to be put through to enquiries about missing tickets. She said there wasn’t one! But she did help.

“I know companies don’t like advertising customer service numbers but it seems extreme for somewhere like Wembley not to have one or to keep it secret!”

Don’t bank on it Banks aren’t quite so secretive about their customer helplines, but they have other ways of driving us potty. As I wrote in the Winter edition of The Pensioner, an estimated 5,000 or so bank branches have closed in the UK since January 2015.

That’s been made worse by a massive reduction in the number of cash machines.

It’s a huge problem for those of us who don’t bank online and for people who prefer to use cash rather than a card.

To be fair, there is ample evidence that the use of cash has plummeted over the years and Covid accelerated that. But more recently, the cost-of-living crisis has prompted a move back to notes and coins on the basis that it helps people to budget.

According to the British Retail Consortium, around 19 per cent of purchases were made with cash in 2022, up from 15 per cent in 2021 – the first time the use of cash has grown in a decade.

The creation of ‘banking hubs’ – where banks share premises in an attempt to compensate for mass branch closures – has only scratched the surface. As we went to press, only two dozen had been opened.

Not that cash is necessarily useful if you want to park your car. Increasingly you can only park if you have a particular app on your smartphone. But not every older person has a smartphone or is a dab hand with ‘apps’. It has meant many older people have been effectively banned from parking in Brighton, for instance.

The problem doesn’t end with installing the app. Those who have managed to do that have vented their fury on the Trustpilot website, giving the Smart Parking company’s technology a one-star rating out of a possible five.

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Customer service

How to complain Your first step is to contact the company – and whatever you do, control your temper.

Most people’s instinct is to call.

If you can find the appropriate number and get someone to answer it, make sure you take a note of the person’s name.

It’s best to put your complaint in writing, either in a letter or email. They might require any relevant photos, videos, receipts or screenshots.

If there’s an official complaints procedure, follow its instructions.

You should keep a record of any phone calls or correspondence with the company. Posting on the company’s social media feeds may speed up its reply time.

If you’re unhappy with the outcome of a complaint, you could refer your problem to the relevant ombudsman.

Both private and public sectors have such institutions, dealing with everything from furniture to health.

There are also ‘alternative dispute resolution’ schemes. Most sectors have them and it’s usually a cheaper and quicker route than legal action.

Local trading standards officers may investigate on your behalf: • England and Wales – Citizens Advice, tel: 0808 223 1133 • Scotland – Advice Direct Scotland, advicedirect.scot/ contact • Northern Ireland – Consumerline, • tel: 0300 123 6262 or www.nidirect. gov.uk/contacts Finally, be persistent.

And good luck!

One review said: “Truly appalling company and business model. I must have been a few minutes late returning for a parking session I paid for, it would have cost me another £1 for another hour but I didn’t realise I needed it. I got a £100 fine seven weeks later. Utterly egregious. I was told an appeal will take 35 days, which is absurd.”

Yet Trustpilot itself isn’t perfect. One BBC Watchdog viewer said he’d lost £20,000 after investing with a company with positive reviews on the site. The company was on a Financial Conduct Authority list warning consumers against investing with them. But when the viewer posted a negative review, the company reported it to Trustpilot and it was removed.

Watchdog’s research found many more financial companies on Trustpilot that were on the warning list – some with ratings of three stars or more.

In a WhatsApp group I belong to, I asked people how they were treated as customers. The least popular service provider, and the one most mentioned, was Virgin Media.

Having talked to one of her older neighbours in London, a colleague said: “If you’ve just turned 80 and awaiting a hip replacement and suffering from arthritis, don’t even phone Virgin Media to complain your broadband isn’t working. You’ll be on the phone for ages, talking to a nineyear-old who wants you to get down on your hands and knees underneath the TV cabinet to plug and unplug infinitesimal cables and electric plugs.

“It was all so easy when that nice

gets a fantastic deal from the company – Virgin Media O2 co-owner Liberty Global chief executive Mike Fries was paid a total of $62 million in 2021.

Moving to another big name, British Gas might be the largest supplier of household energy in the UK, but it’s not the most customer-friendly, according to Which? The supplier received a score of 60 per cent (10th place) compared with the highest rated, Octopus, on 78 per cent.

On customer platform Review.io one woman declared: “British Gas seriously need to get their act together if they want to keep their customers and train the appalling staff they employ!!! Disgusting.”

Trustpilot reviews were considerably more positive however, giving it a four-star rating out of five.

We could go on of course: the pubs and restaurants that insist you order online; the kerbside delivery firms that refuse to take anything in the house; the self-assembly kits with incomprehensible instructions.

And then there’s that nemesis of customer relations, artificial intelligence (AI). The Customer Service Institute confirms that some businesses are already misusing AI, of which the chatbot is an example. At some companies it may soon literally be impossible to speak to a human being. Would that Kafka were still alive, he would relish the absurdities.

Perhaps the best way to make sure you’ll get a decent service is through the recommendation of a friend, relative or neighbour. But even that’s not perfect…

Virgin credentials To be fair, one of the country’s least favourite organisations, Virgin Media, gets a sound thrashing from Trustpilot. When I last looked, it had received 86,387 reviews, yielding a one and a half star rating.

This review on Trustpilot in December did not mince its words: “Absolutely disgusting.

They owe me about £100 for issues with bills, overcharging, false promises, lies, I’m seeking support from Ofcom and will be taking legal actions. Left on hold for hours.

Put phone down on me. Rude employees shouted at me. Disgraceful company.”

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“It was all so easy when that nice 20-year-old man came and did it all” 20-year-old man came and fitted it all. But now she was expected to be a contortionist – if only she could hear what the nine-year-old was saying. Oh well, next call is to the audiologist.”

If you can get past Virgin Media’s bot, the person you’ll speak to will probably not have English as their first language. It’s also clear they are reading from a script from which they cannot deviate.

It will come as a great comfort to Virgin Media customers that at least one person

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Climate change

Taking climate action together Kath Grant on why campaigning to save the planet should unite, not divide, the generations

I

n May 2019, Greta Thunberg and other climate action schoolchildren strikers called on older generations around the world to join them in their fight to save the planet. Thunberg said at the time: “Climate activism is not a single generation’s job. It is humanity’s job.”

Five months later, the Rev Mark Coleman, vicar of Rochdale, was arrested for his own climate change activism as he made the transition from carrying placards at demonstrations to civil resistance.

Last year, the 64-year-old, now retired, was given a five-week prison sentence for sitting down in Bishopsgate in the City of London with 30 others in support of Insulate Britain.

His co-defendants were young and old and while he was in HMP Thameside, his son Harvey took over his Twitter account and passed on messages of support.

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The view from his cell window was high walls and razor wire but Coleman enjoyed talks with fellow prisoners in the exercise yard when they asked him why he thought his actions were so important.

His biggest concern was that he and other defendants had not been able to tell the jury why they had chosen to break the law – because of the judge’s ruling that they could not refer to climate change.

They were all able to speak freely at their sentencing a few weeks later. And Coleman says it was moving to hear defendants’ speeches – “a microcosm of the larger intergenerational community”.

Protest groups Coleman, who helped set up an Extinction Rebellion group in Rochdale and is joined by his wife Wendy at protests, is a member of Insulate Britain and Just Stop

Oil. He was partly inspired by the words of Professor Sir David King, a former government chief scientific adviser, who said in 2021 that what was done in the following three to four years would determine the future of humanity. “In full knowledge of the science and against advice, the government is enabling new oil and gas projects,” he said. “Faced with this, we can sink into despair or denial.

It’s healthier to choose to resist.”

Coleman has been joined on protests by other members of the clergy and people of other faiths. He treasures the opportunity the demonstrations have given him and others to work alongside younger people.

One mother told him she and her husband had decided to protest on the streets after their son encouraged them to read up on climate science. A friend from Christian Climate Action told Coleman she

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Climate change

Inspired by Greta Greta Thunberg’s call for all generations to join the climate fightback is supported by her parents, Svante Thunberg and Malena Ernman. Their daughter’s ideas have motivated Thunberg to become vegan and Ernman to stop flying. Greta and her father famously sailed across the Atlantic for the UN Climate Action Summit to avoid the greenhouse gas emissions of commercial jet planes.

Thunberg and his wife initially supported their daughter’s campaigning because she had been bullied at school and had periods of severe depression, and they felt her activism helped. They soon realised linking up with like-minded young people was a great support.

Extinction Rebellion encourages a bridging of the generation gap with its Grandparents and Elders Group, but many older people have campaigned with protesters from other climate change action groups to influence local, regional and national policies.

There is now a co-operative network, European Grandparents for Climate Organisations, which says man-made global warming is “an ethical challenge, a question of intergenerational justice and global solidarity”. Its participants aim to exchange information, knowledge

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and strategies and to support climate change actions across Europe. They say they are self-organised and politically independent and connected to a range of pro-climate organisations in their own countries – stressing the urgency of acting now and initiating new projects to suit local situations and needs.

Last year’s National Pensioners Convention conference in Blackpool included a session on climate change and featured three family members talking about their concerns for the environment.

CSPA General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris, inspired by their message, sees climate action as a cause that should unite rather than divide the generations.

Many young adults feel the older

“It’s good to stand up with younger people in non-violent resistance” generations have reaped benefits they will never enjoy themselves, she says, leaving them with a climate catastrophe, housing crisis and healthcare and pension systems on the point of collapse.

But she adds: “It seems to me that older generations may not be being fairly represented. Many if not most of us share the gravest of concerns about the state of our planet and its future in the face of climate change, especially given the fact that global leaders appear to be shrinking back from their commitments to reduce carbon emissions.

“It is not right to think we do not care about the future of our children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. I know many parents and grandparents are making big sacrifices to invest in their children’s/ grandchildren’s education and housing arrangements.

I would love us to employ our shared Greta Thunberg speaking to campaigners in Rome in 2019

commitment to saving the planet for future generations, to build bridges across the perceived divides.”

Older and Greener The UK’s Centre for Ageing Better works with local authorities to promote age-friendly communities. Its Older and Greener campaign encourages older people to become more involved with activities around climate change and sees intergenerational work as an important part of the project.

The campaign points out that, when it comes to climate change, older people are among those most at risk from the effects – extreme temperatures in recent years have demonstrated this vividly.

And older people are more likely to live in homes that are poorly insulated.

Older and Greener’s recent report says that, despite this, older people’s views are rarely sought when it comes to attempts to solve the climate crisis.

However, people of all ages need to contribute towards the development of well-rounded policies.

“Age-friendly communities involve older people in local decision-making and can promote green transport, cycling and walking, and improve energy efficiency of homes – all of which help us to age better,” says the report.

The campaign points to examples around the country of what can be done by communities on a smaller scale.

Not everyone is ready for civil resistance, but taking part in local projects can make a difference. And Older and Greener’s resources include an online toolkit for climate campaigning that can be used by many different environmental action groups.

As Sally Tsoukaris points out: “Our members are reliant on decisions being made now, and in decades to come, for the maintenance of their pension schemes, state pensions, health and social care systems. So it makes absolute sense to support and work with present – and future – decisionmakers in every possible way.”

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JOHN GOMEZ , DANIELE COSSU / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

became an activist after her children had left home. And for Coleman, a diagnosis of Parkinson’s nudged him from “moving what I was comfortable with to doing what was needed”.

A YouTube video shows him reading The Magnificat outside Kingsbury Oil Terminal surrounded by younger protestors. “It is good to stand up with younger people in non-violent resistance.

Older people like me are waking up, hearing the call to act, inspired by the young. It feels good to be stepping into.”

Coleman has written about his experiences as an activist and his distress that the UK and other governments are still not doing enough to rescue the planet.

He has also been interviewed by journalists, and his arrests and imprisonment have been covered by mainstream media. A story in The Sun caused much amusement among fellow prisoners when a photo of Coleman being given a drink of water by a police officer appeared alongside a piece featuring Suella Braverman criticising the police for being too “woke” with protestors.

Deputy general secretary

Spring is in the air as pensions rise... and tax is taken David Luxton considers the impact of recent taxation changes, government proposals to inspect personal bank accounts – and an early Easter

A

s March finally arrives after the long, grey, cold winter, we start to see the first signs of spring, with lighter evenings, green shoots and a feeling of renewed optimism after the last bite of winter. So, apart from the lighter evenings and better weather what is there to be optimistic about?

Well for a start, civil service pensions will rise by 6.7% from 8 April in line with the Consumer Prices Index at September last year (for pensions that have been in payment for at least 12 months). State pensions will rise by 8.5%, also from 8 April, in line with average earnings growth between May and July 2023, under the triple-lock arrangement (up by the higher of inflation, earnings growth or 2.5%).

The basic state pension (pre-April 2016) will rise from £156.20 to £169.50 per week (£8,814 pa); the new state pension (from April 2016) will rise from £203.85 to £221.20 per week (£11,502pa) at the full rate. Any earnings-related or additional pension in payment will rise by 6.7% in line with the September inflation figure.

While these increases are welcome, many pensioners will now find this will take more of their pension further above the basic 20% personal tax threshold of £12,570. That has remained frozen since April 2021, and is likely to stay frozen for the next five years, meaning that more pension income will be subject to tax.

So, as an example, a retired civil servant on a £10,000 a year pension, plus the basic (pre-2016) state pension of £8,122 a year, will from 8 April receive a £670 annual increase in their civil service pension plus £690 a year in their state pension. However, the total amount of pension to be taxed in the new tax year will rise from £5,552 to £6,912, so a fifth of the £1,361 pension rise will be taken in tax.

Had the personal tax allowance risen in line with inflation since 2021 it would

There is much talk of tax cuts to come – but not of changes to tax levels

have been £14,300 by April – meaning the pensioner in this example would have kept £346 more of their pension increase.

This tax-take will increase further each year if the tax thresholds remain frozen until 2028… unless there is a surprise announcement in the Budget on 6 March.

Spring Budget surprises?

We will be hearing a lot more about tax over the next few weeks after the Spring Budget on 6 March. There is much talk about tax cuts, while conveniently side-stepping the impact of frozen tax thresholds taking more tax by stealth.

Just as important for pensioners will be announcements about the spending plans and commitments for the NHS and social care. The main political parties are reluctant to detail spending plans before the general election… So let’s try and enjoy the spring and summer months first!

Access to bank accounts Members will have read in the press about proposed new legislation that would give

Whenever the general election is called, the CSPA is prepared for it with the preparation of a pensioner manifesto – Standing by Pensioners – launched in the House of Commons last November alongside our partners in Later Life Ambitions (LLA).

We received a lot of cross-party support at the Parliamentary launch, which was hosted by the Chair of the House of Commons Works and Pensions committee, Sir Stephen Timms MP, and attended by 1960s pop singer Sandie Shaw, who now actively campaigns for older people.

Sandie Shaw with David Luxton at the LLA manifesto launch in November

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Standing by Pensioners

Deputy general secretary

Improving our AGM: we want your views

the government powers to access the personal bank details of anyone in receipt of the state pension.

The CSPA and our partner organisations in Later Life Ambitions have echoed concerns raised by Sir Stephen Timms MP about government plans to allow the inspection of pensioners’ bank accounts, as set out in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill currently going through Parliament.

Sir Stephen spoke in a Commons debate in November to criticise wide-ranging powers that government amendments to the Bill would give ministers to inspect the bank accounts of people on social security and those in receipt of the state pension.

A key concern is that the powers could be used to means-test the state pension and other universal pensioner benefits.

The new powers could be used to means-test the state pension in future The stated purpose of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill is to create a new regime for digital rights and data protection in the UK. Ahead of its third reading in Parliament, the government suddenly proposed amendments including a schedule and clause that would grant the secretary of state the power to require banks, or other financial institutions, to provide personal data for anyone in receipt of benefits, including state pensions.

The government argues that the powers to inspect social security claimants’ bank accounts are to reduce fraud and error. However, when questioned in the Commons, pensions minister Mel Stride said: “I agree, to the extent that levels of fraud in state pensions are currently nearly zero, the power is not needed in that

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You will have seen in the news section of this magazine that the Executive Council has established a working party, with group representation, to review the format and representation basis of the AGM and explore ways of making our democratic structures more accessible and inclusive.

We welcome the views of individual members, as well as local groups, for consideration by the working party at its next meeting on 3 April. Please send your views to me by email at david. luxton@cspa.co.uk or by post to CSPA, 8th Floor, Grosvenor House,

case. However, the government [wishes] to retain the option should the position change in the future.”

Lord Sikka commented in a House of Lords debate on the Bill on 19 December: “Why [does] the government want to snoop on the bank accounts of pensioners when there is hardly any fraud? Do they have some plan to treat the state pension as a means-tested benefit?”

He also asked why the government classified the state pension as a “benefit” when the amount paid to a pensioner is determined by the number of years of National Insurance contributions?

The CSPA is working with LLA partners and parliamentary advisers at Connect, and talking directly to MPs and peers, to seek amendments to the Bill to safeguard the privacy of pensioners’ bank accounts.

We will update members on this important issue through the website and e-newsletters, as well as The Pensioner.

Local group AGMs in March I am looking forward to speaking at several local group AGMs in March, including those in Crawley, Bristol and Bedford. These meetings are good opportunities to meet members and discuss current issues and concerns and have an informal chat over lunch.

125 High Street, Croydon CR0 9XP – by no later than 21 March – so your views can be considered.

Many local groups in England and Wales have had to close in recent years, and while some have been able to amalgamate with a nearby group – such as the closed Gosport North with East Solent, and Harpenden with Bedford & District – there are still many members no longer allocated to a local group, which means there are fewer groups represented at the national AGM.

Spring cheer, early Easter There will be plenty going on in the next few months, in the CSPA and in Parliament. But there will also be lighter spring evenings, warmer days and an early Easter for us all to spend time with family and friends. Those moments are precious and cheer us all up, whatever the Spring Budget or Ides of March hold.

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Branch and group news

Branch and group news

News Recent activities in branches and groups around the UK

ENGLISH REGIONS: LONDON REGION Regional representative David Owen is inviting London Region members who are not allocated to an active group to an informal Zoom meeting to update you on CSPA issues, with a focus on London, and to take any related queries. Please join us on Thursday 11 April at 2.30pm if you can. Join the Zoom meeting via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8167823 2365?pwd=WDBQQnpidi9hK0Y5Zzh3TnB tODd4QT09

To join in audio only from your landline or mobile, please call one of the following London numbers – the automated assistant will guide you through joining: • 020 3481 5237 • 020 3481 5240 • 020 3901 7895 Enter the meeting ID 81678232365 and passcode 094253 when requested. You may be asked for a participant ID, but we do not use these. Just enter #

and you should be connected. Please remember these calls will be charged using your service provider’s tariff.

If you have unlimited minutes/calls, a large allowance of minutes or free calls of up to 60 minutes, you should have no problems - redial and rejoin if our meeting lasts over an hour. If you pay for calls by the minute, it could be costly for you to join us. Please check your tariff to see what you will pay before calling.

The group took part in the CSPA AGM in October, with a delegate, reserve delegate and three other members present. At our Christmas party, our eight-strong committee provided a wide variety of refreshments at Ruskin for more than 20 people, as well as colleagues from CSPA HQ nearby.

The group’s AGM will be on Tuesday 9 April at Ruskin House at 10.30am.

Secretary: John Hickey, 244 Demesne Road, Wallington, Surrey SM6 8EL Tel: 020 8773 0496

SAVS Centre, 29-31 Alexandra Street, Southend-on-Sea, from 2.15pm to 4pm. Refreshments are available. In the intervening months, meetings take the form of lunch or outings. Meetings for early 2024 include: • Monday 11 March – Spring Lunch: 12 noon at Tomassi’s Southend • Monday 8 April – 2.15pm at SAVS, group AGM • Monday 13 May – possible visit to Old House in Rochford, then lunch For more on our local group, meetings and outings, email Betty Anderson at iandbanderson@btinternet.com or call 01702 466335 or 07804 948954.

Secretary: Mary King, 130 Essex Way, Benfleet, Essex SS7 1LP Tel: 01268 794790

GREATER LONDON Croydon & District Last year was steady consolidation after Covid and a change of venue.

Our priorities are to continue this in 2024. Our group meets on the second Tuesday of each month at Ruskin House, Coombe Road, Croydon CR0 1BD at 10.30am, with discussion on local and national issues and a guest speaker.

Our programme for 2024 includes talks on women of the Raj and wildlife along the Wandle, and from the Croydon Natural History Society and the Vision Foundation.

Meetings are being simulcast for members who cannot join in person.

We also go for lunch at a local restaurant after some meetings.

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Southend-on-Sea & District We usually meet on the second Monday of the month except January.

About four times a year this is at the

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Branch and group news

GREATER LONDON continued Twickenham & District We meet on the second Friday of selected months in the Parish Hall of St Mary & St Alban, Langham Road, Teddington, from 11am to 1pm.

The hall is near St Alban church at the river end of Teddington High

Street, near the junction with Kingston Road, Manor Road and Ferry Road.

Buses 281, 285 and R68 stop here.

Langham Road is off the High Street at this point. The meeting room is the Mina Hogan room on the ground floor.

Tea and coffee will be available.

Our meeting dates for 2024 are: 8 March (AGM), 14 June, 13 September and 13 December.

Secretary: Mr R Monk, 40 Park House Gardens, Twickenham TW1 2DE Tel: 020 8288 1910 Email: mrbobmonk@yahoo.co.uk

Crawley The group has resumed meeting on the second Wednesday of the month at The Orchard, Brighton Road, Crawley, and has an interesting programme lined up: • 13 March – AGM, CSPA Deputy General Secretary David Luxton on issues facing the CSPA • 10 April – Bernadette Lawrie, Sussex Police safeguarding officer, on scams and fraud affecting older people and how to avoid them. This meeting

could be very popular so if you do not normally come, please advise the secretary if you are coming so enough seats can be provided.

• 8 May – Graham Feast, road safety consultant, on transport, traffic and road safety • 12 June – Chris Green on Isambard Kingdom Brunel • 10 July – our vice

president Mike Lawler on his travels.

Our meetings start at 10.30am with coffee and biscuits and end at 12.30pm, when we adjourn to a local pub for lunch.

We charge members £3 to cover our costs.

Please check our website – www.crawley-cspa.co.uk – for all the latest news.

Secretary: Sylvia Sturtevant Email: briansturtevant@ cspa.co.uk

WESSEX Bournemouth & District We continue to meet in the lounge of at St Mark’s church Bournemouth, a pleasant venue with excellent facilities, including good disabled access and toilets. We have a varied programme, including talks on: • The story of decorative tiles • Richard III and his mother • Dorset Search and Rescue

There are many other good topics lined up. All details will be in our local newsletters. We would love you to come along and join us.

The venue is St Mark’s church, Wallisdown Road, Talbot Village,

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Bournemouth BH10 4HY and our meetings start at 10.45am and end at 12.30pm. There is plenty of free parking at the church and a bus stop right outside. It is situated almost opposite the university and the public can use any university bus.

We now need to charge £4 entry towards the cost of hall, speakers and refreshments – still cheaper than most other local talks. We meet on the fourth Tuesday in the month as follows: • 26 March • 23 April • 28 May • 25 June • 23 July • No meeting August • 24 September • 22 October • 26 November • No meeting December – annual lunch date to be confirmed.

Secretary: Liz Malin Tel: 01929 472441 Mob: 07534 438717 Email: lizmalin1@gmail.com

Isle of Wight If we ever want to meet with former colleagues (and occasionally people whose spouses were civil servants), only our quarterly occasions at the Riverside Centre in Newport give us the chance.

And not just for a chat. Where else in England can we challenge what is going on in the health service locally and get honest answers?

The Isle of Wight group is our official representative body. On Tuesday 13 March at 11am at the Riverside Centre we will meet to do two things. Our AGM will decide who will run the group for the year. But most of the meeting will be devoted to a discussion with Isle of Wight Healthwatch about all aspects of the health service, from specialist provision to GPs. Bring along your questions and issues.

If you have anything you want to raise in advance please contact us.

Secretary: Ted Berrow 13 Wroxall Close, Northwood PO31 8AQ Tel: 01983 242029

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SOUTHERN

Branch and group news

MIDLANDS

Gloucestershire The group has met quarterly over the past year with attendances of between 20 and 30 and some new faces.

We sent delegate Alastair Goldie and observer Maureen Smith to the national AGM in October. This was very worthwhile as not only were our own motions passed but it also provided an opportunity to meet HQ staff and discuss membership lists and procedures.

Bridge in Shrewsbury

The committee has been arranging the programme for the year. All our meetings will be on a Thursday because of hall availability as follows: • 5 March – AGM, with General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris • 7 June – Age UK on what help and support they can offer • 5 September – Dr Ian Donald, retired consultant in geriatrics and frailty medicine on ageing and frailty • 5 December – speaker to be announced when confirmed.

West Mercia CC BY-SA 4.0 VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS The group holds quarterly in-person meetings each year in March, June, September and December. Apart from December, our meetings are held in two different venues in the same week to facilitate our far-flung membership of more than 800 members in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire.

We produce a four-page quarterly newsletter and provide regular updates to the 140 or so members in our email group. We intend to complement this with occasional gatherings by Zoom.

We met in Worcester on 11 December.

Our next group meetings, which will constitute the AGM, will be held in Worcester on 18 March and in Shrewsbury on 20 March.

We will then meet on 17 June in Hereford and on 19 June in Wellington.

Secretary: David Humphreys Email: dnhumphreys@gmail.com

NORTH WEST Greater Manchester Greater Manchester Group meets at the Methodist Central Buildings, Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JQ. All of our meetings commence at 11am and finish at 1pm. The meetings for 2024 are: • Wednesday 13 March (AGM) • Wednesday 12 June (conference motions) • Wednesday 18 September (mandating meeting) • Wednesday 23 October (conference report) • Wednesday 11 December (Christmas lunch at 12 noon) We also hold social events at the Old Rectory, Stockport, on the first Thursday of each quarter at noon – 7 March, 6 June and 5 September.

It’s that time of the year when

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the begging bowl comes out again.

Members are aware we receive no funds from HQ, so we must raise funds locally for local expenses, donations and subscriptions to organisations such as the North West Pensioners

We raise funds in two ways: direct donations and our 200 Club Association (NWPA) and social care pressure group Act for Inclusion. We raise funds locally in two methods: direct donations and a 200 Club in which a quarter of what we raise goes to group funds and the remainder is given in prize money. The new annual

cycle starts in March and costs £12 with a monthly prize. Donations can be sent to me at 46 Severn Way, Holmes Chapel, Crewe CW4 8FT. Pam Flynn, our secretary, has been nominated as chair of the NWPA and I am on the Executive Committee of NWPA and a delegate to the National Pensioners Convention.

I am also your regional representative of the CSPA. I will be attending the biennial conference of the NPC in March.

The CSPA has a motion against the continued holding down of the tax thresholds, which could pull pensioners into having to pay income tax on their state pension if they are not raised in accordance with annual inflation.

Details from Harry Brett Tel: 07999 874864 Email: h_brett@sky.com

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Birmingham The group’s AGM will be held on 6 March at St Michael’s Church, Moor Street, Birmingham at 10.30am.

At the meeting we will elect group officers and executive committee for the following year. It is hoped we will elect a chair, secretary, treasurer, membership secretary, social secretary and six executive committee members.

We will also hear from guest speaker Kevin Billson, our new regional representative.

Secretary: Eileen Turner Tel: 01564 20016 Mob: 07778744320 Email: eileenturner@blueyonder.co.uk

Looking forward to seeing you at the AGM in March. As usual the meetings will be held at 10am for 10.30am at the Civil Service Club, Tewkesbury Road, Cheltenham GL51 9SL Alastair Goldie Tel: 0779 634 1104 Email: cspaglos@gmail.com

Branch and group news

SCOTLAND BRANCH

Medieval castle at Scarborough

NORTH EAST REGION Scarborough & District Family and friends joined members of the group for a Christmas lunch at the Park Manor Hotel at the end of November.

The group also met in September, when it was agreed to reinstate the £5 membership fee from January 2024.

The annual cost of running the group is roughly £200 for hire of the room, expenses for travel to regional and AGMs and occasional hospitality. At the close of September the group had a balance of £374.85. Cheques for the fee should be payable to CSPA Scarborough Group and sent to: James Howie, Treasurer, The Pippins, Rectory Lane, Thornton le Dale, YO18 7QG. Receipts will not be given for payment by cheque.

James represented the group at the national AGM. His motion (with Bristol Group) – for the EC to seek an end to increasing mobile phone, broadband and telephone charges by 3.9% plus the rate of inflation – was carried.

The group was informed the Yorkshire Building Society had donated funds to Age UK and Citizens Advice to fund a scheme for providing confidential advice for anyone, including non-YBS customers, experiencing problems in the current cost of living crisis. Further information can be found at www.ybs.co.uk.

Group meetings will be: 22 April (AGM), 24 June and 23 September.

Please consider joining the committee and taking an officer post. Meetings are held in Belle Vue Room, Westborough Methodist Church, Scarborough YO11 1TS. Entrance via the door from the car park.

Secretary: Sheena O’Connell Tel: 01723 354371 Email: oconnellsheena@gmail.com

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Meetings continue be held at The Griffin, 266 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JP, opposite the King’s Theatre.

There is an entrance to the private room in Elmbank Street for those not wishing to go through the bar.

Meetings will be on the first Thursday in May, September (tbc) and November starting at 1.30pm.

The next meeting is on 2 May. Please note: the date of the Scotland Branch 2024 AGM has been moved to Thursday 25 April. It will be held this year in the Maldron Hotel, 50 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G2 3BW, a 10-minute walk from Central and Queen Street train stations. It will begin at 11.30am.

For catering purposes, please tell Michael Kirby, membership secretary, of your intention to attend by 4 April.

Michael can also advise members requiring disabled access.

CSPA General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris has kindly accepted our invitation to be our guest speaker.

Patrick McGuire from Thompsons solicitors has also been invited to speak about the free initial legal advice services they offer Scottish members. Full details will also be announced in the branch newsletter.

We now have a new branch website: www. cspascotland.org.uk

Members are reminded that we now have a new branch website at www.cspascotland.org.uk If you have any membership matters to update, such as change of address, contact Michael Kirby by email or phone as listed below.

Branch newsletters have helped keep members informed, especially those in remote areas who cannot attend meetings or have no internet access. Word of mouth is one of the best ways of recruiting members, so if you know anyone who would like to join, please contact Michael Kirby to see if they are eligible.

We also wish to continue reaching out to members who have lived in Scotland but moved elsewhere. If this applies to you and you would like to be reallocated as a member of the branch, please contact: Membership secretary: Michael Kirby Tel. 07969 405263 Email: Michael.Kirby@cspa.co.uk Special notice Apologies to any Scotland Branch members who have not received The Pensioner magazine or branch newsletters. If you know of anyone still not receiving these, please ask them to contact HQ on 020 868 8418 giving your name, address and, if known, membership number, as the branch officers are not responsible for the distribution listings taken from the national database.

Having problems with your energy bills or supplier As more of our lives are going online, it is almost impossible to get someone to speak to when things go wrong or if you are having problems. Energy companies are no different and their phone lines are extremely busy with consumers’ concerns about increases in

charges, with more to come.

In Scotland, you can contact Home Energy Scotland for free help and advice Monday to Friday 8am-8pm Saturday 9am-5pm.

Freephone 0808 808 2282.

Website: www.homeenergy scotland.org/contact-advicesupport-funding

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Branch and group news

SCOTLAND GROUP REPORTS All previously known groups in Scotland are now closed. However, should any members wish to make further enquiries about creating a new group in your area, please

contact branch administrator Christine McGiveron at: 12 Benmore, Prestwick Ayrshire KA9 2LS Tel. 01292 891033 Email: Christine.McGiveron@cspa.co.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND BRANCH The 2024 annual general meeting will take place in the Long Gallery, Parliament Buildings, Stormont on Wednesday 24 April at 2pm.

Refreshments will be served from 1.30pm. CSPA General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris and a representative from the Charity for Civil Servants will be guest speakers. All members are encouraged to attend.

There is free car parking and members who are Blue Badge holders can access special facilities. Further details will be included on our website in due course.

Branch newsletter The third edition of the branch newsletter was issued to all members in December. It included details of the AGM, the Active Ageing Strategy, civil service pension overpayments, NI Assembly All Party Group on Older People, the Commissioner for Older People, proposed 2024 pension increases and a tribute to Carson Wilson.

Pensioner Manifesto The manifesto launch event was held in late November in Westminster and branch secretary Tony McMullan attended. At the launch Tony took the opportunity to lobby two local MPs, Sammy Wilson DUP/East Antrim and Claire Hanna SDLP/South Belfast, who spoke at the event. Tony has received positive responses from both MPs on key issues affecting CSPA NI members.

Retirement seminars We have a healthy membership rate among Northern Ireland civil service pensioners, but we constantly need to keep recruiting new members. A stronger membership gives us a stronger voice with the powers-that-be. We have requested a speaking slot on civil service pre-retirement seminars provided by Civil Service Pensions Branch of the Department of Finance.

Meeting with NIPSA A CSPA delegation, led by General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris, along with Tony McMullan and Roisin Lilley, will meet senior representatives of Northern Ireland’s largest civil service trade union, the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA), on 23 April.

This important meeting will discuss items of concern for retired civil servants in Northern Ireland and how the two organisations can work better together.

Personal cases Any members who are needing support on any issue affecting their civil service pensions should contact Tony McMullan at tony.mcmullan@outlook.com For queries about CSPA NI membership please contact Roisin Lilley at roisincspa@gmail.com

We have a healthy membership rate but we need to keep recruiting

Specsavers offer The exclusive deal reached with Specsavers, which gives members a £20 voucher to use against their £99 and above range, continues to be widely welcomed. To date 156 vouchers have been issued, saving members a total of £3,120.

Branch committee meeting The branch committee met on 13 December and for the second successive meeting there was a full turnout of all nine committee members.

They reviewed the work done in 2023 and set the plans for the 2024 AGM.

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Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland

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Conference report

Route map to longer lives Jenny Sims reports from the International Longevity Centre’s conference in London

W

e can live to 100 or more, but to do so healthily and happily, a lot of changes are needed.

The International Longevity Centre (ILC) UK has listed the challenges and come up with bold ideas to “make change happen”.

Through its report One hundred not out – a route map for long lives, launched at its Future of Ageing conference, the ILC made clear its aim “to get longevity on the political agenda”.

Tackling ageist attitudes is key to bringing about the changes needed, the report argues. “To make sure long lives are better for all, we need to reject the ageist attitudes that encourage a negative view of longevity, and instead take action to grasp its opportunities.”

Justifying why a route map is needed, it says: “Our attitudes and societies are still built around stereotypes about what we can and cannot do at each stage of our lives. This approach is already beginning to fail individuals and the country as a whole.

“Living longer lives offers an opportunity to think differently about how we live, learn and work. But that won’t happen without a conscious choice to change – along with significant effort and fresh investment.”

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The UK population is ageing. The number of people aged over 65 is expected to double by 2050, and the number over 85 to quadruple, while the working age population (20-64) will only rise by 20.1%.

At the same time, healthcare costs are rising. But the ILC points out that in countries that spend more on health, people work, volunteer and spend more.

Conference speakers and panellists including industry experts, academics, political commentators, community leaders and journalists all supported the ILC’s call for “a new intergenerational contract for an ageing society, built collaboratively by people of all ages”.

One of the ideas suggested was to “set up citizens panels which could make proposals directly to Parliament on resolving the complex trade-offs that come with living in an ageing society.”

Opening the conference, ILC chair of

The number of people aged over 65 is expected to double by 2050

trustees Nigel Waterson quoted former US president Ronald Reagan: “It’s surprising what you can achieve if you don’t mind who takes the credit.”

He said the route map was “a work in progress”; the ILC didn’t mind who took credit for the ideas in it but it needed ambition to be delivered.

Steps in the route map Some of its recommendations are: • Develop multigenerational community hubs that offer access to a range of public and voluntary sector support for citizens of all ages.

• Require public amenities to be open by default, with specific justification for overnight closures of public amenities including toilets and seating areas.

• Ensure that at least 6% of total Department of Health and Social Care expenditure and 6% of NHS spending goes towards preventative healthcare.

• Develop a “London-level guarantee” for transport, to ensure all major cities have an efficient and low-cost transport infrastructure comparable to London.

• Discourage under-occupation by allowing owner-occupiers who let

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Conference report

out rooms in their home following a bereavement or separation to retain the single-person council tax discount for up to five years.

• Help create lifelong incomes by encouraging workplace savings alongside pensions, introducing an escalator on auto-enrolment minimum contributions and developing simple ways for self-employed people to save.

Some of the ideas are bold, some controversial, which the ILC admits requires a shift in mindset around ageing.

But it claims: “In the context of the seismic demographic change we’re facing, these ideas warrant consideration.

“We’re living longer but increasingly unhealthier lives. Many conditions are avoidable, but we’re still spending more money and time curing, rather than preventing ill health.”

The ILC highlights other challenges: a mismatch between our income and the amount we need to spend; the need to work longer but the struggle to find jobs people can and want to do; lack of suitable housing; and affordable, reliable, accessible transport.

The ILC also draws attention to highstreet businesses and online retailers that risk missing out on a “longevity dividend” worth £0.5 trillion by 2040.

“Neither online nor offline retailers are doing enough to make shopping attractive and accessible to us at every stage of our lives,” it said.

Individuals and retirement age in his keynote speech on “solutions for longer lives”, Lord Blunkett, former Labour education and employment secretary, said: “The world is changing and we have got to try and adapt and change with it.”

He began with the message that employers and others must start treating

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One in four of all new homes should be targeted at older people people as individuals, and allow for flexibility in what they can do at work and when they retired. “It was a major battle when I was in government,” he said, “to start persuading people to accept that there would be a retirement pension age but not an age of retirement.”

His main emphasis to the conference was that people should be valued for whatever they did, whether that be paid work, voluntary work or caring.

Housing The dire state of housing for older people in the UK was laid bare by Professor Julienne Meyer, chair of a 12-month government taskforce set up last April to tackle the issue.

She pointed out: “It’s estimated that one in four of all new homes should be targeted at older people to cope with changing demographics. We should be building 50,000 specialised housing units for older people – we are actually only building 7,000.”

The Older People’s Housing Taskforce is working across housing, health and care with the aim of increasing the volume and range of housing options for older people.

Professor Meyer said they were interested in a people-centred approach to address older people’s needs and looking at “empowering older people to access the housing they want”.

The taskforce wanted to find out how they could support older people to stay in their own homes as long as possible if that’s what they wanted.

It has produced an interim report and

will be testing out the recommendations before a final report is published.

Professor Lynda Grattan of London Business School, and co-author with Andrew Scott of best-selling book The 100Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity, said planning for a long life had to start young.

In China the book has sold half a million copies, and in Japan it has been made available in schools to every 16-year-old.

Professor Grattan said the wellestablished three-way approach to working lives: education, work and retirement was beginning to collapse and there was a need to do things differently and for people to learn to structure their lives differently.

“We’ve got to think through what it is in life that makes it possible to be fulfilled, both in work and in leisure, in the things we want to do.”

Government interventions were needed at the beginning of working lives to help people save and plan, she added.

The conference attracted attendees from the public, private and third sectors, as well as individuals with interests ranging from promoting health through the life course, physical activity, work and finance, housing and building stronger communities.

With an election on the horizon, the ideas set out in One hundred not out – a route map for long lives report needs and deserves to be given some serious attention by politicians and policymakers – and to be acted on.

• To download One hundred not out – a route map for long lives visit https://ilcuk.org.uk/routemap-for-long-lives/

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Connect

Battle against prejudice Matthew Boyd on the campaign to break down stereotypes that hold back older people

S

tereotypes are known to be harmful, creating prejudice against certain groups. Often spoken about in terms of ethnicity, nationality or gender, stereotypes lead to a more divisive society. Such rhetoric can have serious impacts on a person’s life, socio-economic status and opportunities.

But what about the stereotypes facing people in later life?

A recent session of the Women and Equalities Committee in Parliament covered this topic. All witnesses agreed stereotypes of older people and ageism are deeply embedded in society – and perhaps more widely accepted than other forms of discrimination.

Older people are characterised as bad at technology, frail and pensionrich – but how many older people do you know who fit this characterisation?

Many are tech-savvy, communicating digitally through social media or smartphones. Many are very active. And some pensioners, struggling with the cost of living, are not living the luxurious life presented in the media. A recent Independent Age survey showed the majority of older people who are private renters have had to move to some of the most deprived areas to afford housing.

Another assumption is that older people have family to care for them, but this isn’t a universal experience either.

Every person has different abilities and circumstances. So if there is no universal definition of a person in later life, why does society do it? The answer is stereotyping and ageism – the cohort of those in later life is diverse.

A prime example of the complexity of older generations emerges when you consider the intersecting characteristics of the group. Pensioners who are part

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of the BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) and/or LGBT+ communities may experience additional challenges that white and/or straight pensioners would not. BAME and LGBT+ peers face stereotypes and discrimination that can seriously damage their wellbeing, even posing a threat to their lives. Combined with ageism, these can create additional barriers that stop older people getting the care they deserve.

Perpetuating the problem Beyond society’s discrimination, ageism can be internalised by older people. As Welsh Commissioner for Older People Heléna Herklots explained to the Committee, people are indoctrinated from birth with stereotypes about older people, false truths perpetuated by media and society. The internalisation of such viewpoints can stop individuals standing up for themselves in later life.

Heléna gave examples of internalised

No one is more worthy than another to have mental health support ageism – some older people have been reluctant to take mental health appointments in Wales because they believe the appointments should go to younger people. But no one is more worthy than another to have such support. Internalised ageism is threatening older people’s ability to access vital services.

It also has an impact on how older people treat their peers, by judging actions or decisions based on widely held

stereotypes. What if they wear different clothes or have different hobbies?

As ageism is commonplace from such a young age, by the time people get into later life they already have certain expectations. Ageism is holding back society and the government from truly supporting older people in later life.

Ingrained in society, ageism shows up everywhere. Stereotypes exacerbate the inter-generational divide, which stops older and younger people learning from each other.

British society has a role to play in unlearning stereotypes and ageism, but so does the government. It must ensure older people are considered in every part of policymaking. Without a strategy for older people, it is hard to see how the government is protecting and advocating for those in later life.

Later Life Ambitions is calling for an Older People’s Commissioner for England and Scotland. We’ve already seen progress in Scotland with a bill for such a role, but this is just the first step towards a better deal for older people in Scotland.

Having a commissioner like Wales and Northern Ireland would give older people in England a government-linked but independent advocate to ensure they get the best possible support.

With a general election likely this autumn, Later Life Ambitions will strive to make sure your voice is heard across the UK. We will work with government, opposition and civil servants to give you a springboard to live your life to the fullest. Together we can dismantle the stereotypes and make the UK the best place to enjoy retirement.

• Matthew Boyd is an account executive at the CSPA’s public relations consultancy Connect.

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First person

t n e m e r i t e r Life after lcome an unexpected but we es rib sc de n ie Br O’ d Richar rking life epping down from wo st r te af ts en ev of rn tu

I

am a museum exhibit. Fortunately I’m not in a glass case or hanging on a wall, I’m a living exhibit in a museum of social history.

It happened soon after I retired. My wife got me into it. No-one who knows me well is surprised by that – I’ve had a number of jobs I had no idea I’d applied for until the work fairy briefed me on the eve of the interview. She worried, you see, that the lure of idleness would overwhelm me if I was allowed to stay still for too long.

She was onto something of course.

I enjoyed my career as a trade union spin doctor, and a brief stint teaching secondary school kids with special needs, but the dream of unstructured days, napping as the fancy took, was strong.

So, when at the youthful age of 58 I got to hang up my boots, I was deliriously happy but my wife had strongly mixed feelings. I settled into leisure seamlessly. The only thing that troubled me was the frequency with which adverts would pop up on Facebook entreating me not to go gently into that good night. Had I considered volunteering? What about part-time work or mentoring young people? I thought at first this was just the algorithm, the same reason I got stairlift ads and tips about dealing with joint pain or ear hair. It wasn’t though; the work fairy was at it again.

I resolutely ignored every temptation she forwarded, preferring to make lists of DIY jobs I might do one day. Until something shiny caught my eye during a Sunday morning lie-in. The Chiltern Open Air Museum (COAM) was looking for amateur actors to portray ordinary people from history for the enjoyment and education of

the public. I was powerless to resist.

It was dressing up and talking about history, two of my favourite things. My resolve shattered, I filled in the form immediately, ignoring the triumphant cackling wafting up the stairs.

Museum attractions The museum has 37 reconstructed buildings rescued from the Chiltern hills.

They range from an Iron Age house to the post-war prefab where I work. There are Tudor barns, 18th century cottages and churches, Victorian farm buildings, a toll road office and even a municipal toilet in Art Nouveau style.

Costumes for all of the buildings are made by volunteers who sew and knit in a hut on site. Since most of the exhibits are pre-20th century workplaces or homes for working people, all the costumes fit skinny retches who have suffered from hunger and disease throughout their short and brutish lives. Being a big-boned chap meant I was typecast for the 1950s, when it could be legitimately said I had never had it so good!

My character, Bob, lived in the

prefab pictured below with his wife Ethel and three children. Far from being overcrowded, Ethel said the asbestos bungalow was a palace compared with what was available to most other young couples in 1948.

These modular buildings were intended as a temporary stop gap to provide shelter after wartime bombing and then a desperate shortage of skills and materials for construction after hostilities ceased.

They proved very popular, with all mod cons – indoor toilet and bathroom, electric cooker, fridge, even a rudimentary type of central heating run off a coal-fired boiler.

And there was a plot of land where fruit and vegetables were grown to supplement the meagre rations available at the time.

I explain to visitors that the success of Bob’s market garden is the reason I fill out my pullover so well.

COAM’s annual programme is packed with special events to complement the permanent exhibits – re-enactments, craft demonstrations, jousting and a classic car show. My own favourite is the Halloween Special, which saw 2,000 people volunteer to be terrified by me and my colleagues.

I’m loving being part of it. Don’t tell the work fairy though eh!

Richard as Bob and ‘wife’ Ethel in their prefab at the Chiltern Open Air Museum

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Synopsis

In Parliament

A round-up of recent questions and debates across the UK's parliaments

WESTMINSTER

by Joe Frost

FUNERAL PRE-PAYMENT Alan Brown asked about the impact of the regulation of funeral plan providers.

The minister said the government had legislated to bring all funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority from 29 July 2022. This ensured that 1.6 million funeral plan customers were protected by compulsory and robust regulation. The government had consulted widely and had published an impact assessment prior to legislating.

JAPANESE KNOTWEED Julian Knight wanted to know what steps were planned to tackle knotweed.

The reply said DEFRA-funded biocontrol research had identified Aphalari itadori (a sap-sucking insect) as a biological control agent for tackling the plant.

Information on the research could be found on the Japanese Knotweed Alliance website. Local action groups supported by the government were actively involved in reducing and eradicating the plants.

SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS Jeremy Quin’s request revealed that there were 20 civil servants working in the Cabinet Office (CO) at the level of director general as of 30 September.

On the same date there were 321 civil servants working in the CO on its payroll who were on loan or secondment.

CIVIL SERVANTS RECRUITMENT Julian Knight asked what steps were being taken to recruit into the civil service from the private sector. The minister said he had announced measures in July to make the service more attractive to external candidates.

For senior roles, for example, all recruitment should operate externally by default, with vacancies at that level advertised internally and externally to the service on openly available websites.

TV LICENCES Sir John Whittingham’s question established the BBC had confirmed that no enforcement action had been taken against over-75s for TV licence evasion.

The government had been clear that

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the BBC must ensure it supported those affected by its decision on the concession and it expected the BBC to do so with the utmost sensitivity.

ROAD REPAIRS Seeking a definition of the term pothole, Lord Patten learned there was no nationally agreed definition; it was up to local authorities to decide which surface defects on the highway to treat – as set out online in Well Managed Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice.

CAR HIRE Baroness Hayter asked what assessment had been made of the decision by some car hire companies not to hire out vehicles to drivers aged 75 or over.

The minister replied that while age discrimination in providing services was generally unlawful under the 2010 Act, there could be exceptions. If a provider could show that differential treatment between, say, adults aged under and over 75 was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, this would be permitted. Where a company could not show their leasing policy was proportionate, an individual affected could bring a claim in the county court or sheriff’s court in Scotland. If the court decided the “objective justification test” had not been satisfied, it may award costs and compensation to the claimant.

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In Parliament 20MPH SPEED LIMITS Bill Esterson asked about 20mph zones.

The reply said local speed limits were a matter for local authorities. While the government supported 20mph limits in the right places, it did not support them being set indiscriminately in all roads without due regard to safety and local support. It planned to review guidance to English authorities to ensure consistency on setting 20mph limits and to be clear on the factors that local authorities should consider when introducing limits.

Separately, Lord Wigley asked how many people had died in England as a result of road accidents where there was a speed limit of 40mph and below, and where there was no speed restriction. The reply listed the following fatalities: Year <40mph >40mph 2018 731 790 2019 725 764 2020 598 648 2021 644 685 2022 684 759

STATE PENSION Dan Carden asked what assessment had been made of the adequacy of the over-80s pension. The minister said no assessment had been carried out. April 2023 saw the biggest ever rise (10.1%) in the over-80 category D non-contributory state pension – now £93.60 per week.

A range of other measures and benefits were available for that age group. Pension Credit could top up income to a minimum of £201.05 for a single pensioner and £306.85 for a couple and provide access to other benefits such as help with rent and council tax.

The Winter Fuel Allowance for households with an occupant aged 80 or over could provide a further £300 compared with £200 for pensioners below that age.

PENSIONER LOW INCOMES Gregory Campbell asked what the priorities were in the low-income pensioners trial. The minister said that in addition to the ongoing Pension Credit communications campaign, in July the government had launched a more targeted “invitation to claim” trial. About 2,500 pensioner households

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across 10 local authority areas were sent letters encouraging contact with the DWP to make a claim. Targeted households were identified as most likely to be missing out because they were claiming Housing Benefit but not Pension Credit. The aim of the trial was to learn whether using data in this way could help identify eligible households and whether it was an effective way of boosting Pension Credit applications.

INCOME TAX Gregory Campbell asked how many pensioners who did not pay income tax because their state pension was their sole income would start paying tax from April. Nigel Huddleston said from April the weekly rate of basic state pension would be £169.50 and the new state pension £221.20 (sic).

The personal allowance – the amount of income each individual might receive before paying tax – was high enough (£12,570) to ensure those whose sole income was the basic or new state pension, and who had not deferred or received protected payments, did not pay income tax.

DOMESTIC ACCIDENTS Karin Smyth asked how many hospital admissions for people aged 65 or over were a result of a fall in the past five years: 2022/23: 348,753; 2021/22: 358,376; 2020/21: 342,273; 2019/21: 369,506; 2018/19: 353,266

CIVIL SERVANTS Viscount Waverley asked whether the terms and conditions for civil servants post-Covid specified the time required in an office location.

The reply said flexible working was for local management to decide but ministers had made it clear staff should be in the workplace to drive delivery and adhere to contractual obligations.

In addition to thousands of civil servants working in prisons, courts and at borders, office workers were expected to spend at least 60% of working time in the office.

WELSH PARLIAMENT

by Joe Frost

SPEED LIMITS The controversial 20mph limit has led to a petition calling for it to be rescinded. The Lywydd told the chamber the petition was receiving an unprecedented number of signatures. A petition can collect signatures for up to six months, she said, after which it is referred to the Petitions Committee and then possibly the Senedd for debate. Once 10,000 signatures were reached, petitioners were asked if they wished to trigger committee action.

At the end of September the total had exceeded 300,000.

Laura Anne Jones told First Minister Mark Drakeford that rail connectivity and services across Wales were a wholly inadequate alternative to car usage. The government had refused to revert its “disastrous 20mph default blanket speed limit” and rumours were rife that the WG planned to reduce speed limits across Wales to a maximum of 50mph. The FM insisted: “It will not happen. I rule it out today, as I ruled it out last week.”

ROAD CHARGING Andrew RT Davies asked what the vision of the WG was in relation to road charging, given that powers to charge were proposed in the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Bill. In addition, he said, the national transport plan talked about road charging.

The FM said the powers in the Bill were about improving air quality and it set out a series of measures aimed at that process. A residual and fallback position

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In Parliament

was provided by powers that could lead to road charging if other measures did not work. The Bill was intended to make those measures work and the WG would be focused upon those outcomes.

RAIL SERVICES Cefin Campbell drew attention to the poor performance of rail services in west Wales, particularly the Heart of Wales line (Swansea to Shrewsbury), and a survey that had put Llandovery, Llandeilo and Llanwrtyd stations among the 100 worst performing of the 2,700 stations in the UK over the past six months. He asked the FM how he proposed to tackle these issues and urged Labour’s leader to ensure HS2 funding come to Wales.

Mr Drakeford agreed the Heart of Wales line was a key part of Wales' rail network. Transport for Wales (TfW) had reported improvements in September and was confident those would continue.

New trains would also be introduced.

As to HS2, the FM quoted Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies: “The whole thing just makes me want to weep.

It just makes me despair.”

If the Birmingham to Manchester line was cancelled (this exchange took place a week before the cancellation was announced), the FM said, the fiction the UK government relied upon – that the HS2 line would be of an advantage to Wales – would be completely exploded.

If so, the Barnett formula should operate on the money spent, to allow the WG to invest it in the rail network in Wales.

Rhun ap Iorwerth asked the FM to admit Wales faced a real crisis in its rail service and asked how he proposed

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to get things back on track. The FM accepted that as of (17 October) the WG had hoped there would be 77 new trains in operation but only 34 had been delivered. The better news was that TfW was accepting a new train every seven to 10 days and was confident improvement would be sustained.

Dissatisfaction with rail services featured in a Senedd debate initiated by Plaid Cymru. It noted it was five years since TfW took over the rail franchise and called on the WG to ensure commitments, improvements, upgrading of stock and planning for services to coincide with major events in Wales were met.

The motion also proposed that services across Wales were unacceptably unreliable and expensive with only 57% on time between April and June 2023.

Only 29% of journeys were provided by new trains, well below the 95% target set by the WG in 2023, and TfW had the lowest customer satisfaction rating of all UK operators.

The WG tabled an amendment acknowledging performance issues and challenges, but welcomed stabilisation of performance delivered since August (the debate was on 25 October) and the £1.1 billion invested in the core valley lines and £900 million in rolling stock across Wales and the borders network.

A Conservative amendment called on the WG to publish the business case from TfW to justify the £125 million additional funding provided to the operator in the current financial year.

Minister Lee Waters described difficulties with the delivery of the new

Transport for Wales had the lowest customer rating of all UK operators

Cynghordy viaduct, Llandovery

trains and the challenges presented

by Covid, austerity and inflation.

Nonetheless, he said: “By 2040, we want to see 45% of journeys being made by public transport, walking and cycling, up from 32% now.”

There was a tie of 26 votes for and 26 against the unamended motion and similarly a tie on the WG amendment and the opposition amendment.

The casting vote by the Llywydd meant the motion and amendments were lost but the debate gave oxygen to the general concerns about rail services across Wales.

AMBULANCE SERVICES Andrew RT Davies highlighted the pressures experienced over one weekend: at Morriston 16 ambulances queued at A&E; at Llangollen an elderly person waited four hours for an ambulance after a fall and was finally taken to hospital by private car; in Caerphilly a lady who had waited 22 hours died in the ambulance.

The FM agreed the root of the problems lay with the hospital admission process. Discussions continued with the authorities on tackling the urgent and emergency care challenges faced by hospitals. The WG had announced an extra £425 million for the health service.

Lessons from previous winters were implemented and there were more staff in the ambulance service than ever.

The latest numbers, Mr Drakeford said, confirmed a downturn in people waiting for community care – a good sign of resilience in social service departments.

In addition, numbers seen within the four-hour A&E target had increased in September.

COAL TIPS AND SAFETY Responding to questions from members, the FM confirmed that Wales had 40% of all disused coal tips in the UK, with more than 2,500 such sites.

A Bill dealing with their safety would come before the Senedd in 2024. There was a much more rigorous inspection programme already in place.

In addition, the WG continued to invest with local authorities in maintaining and remediating coal tips, with a focus on skills and building the capacity of local authorities to carry out their oversight of tips. New technology in monitoring and inspecting the 70 highest rated disused tips was being used in Wales.

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In Parliament PRIMARY CARE Altaf Hussain said he had been overwhelmed by letters from GPs dismayed at the breakdown in negotiations over the General Medical Services contract. He said many claimed to be considering leaving the profession as workloads and underfunding took their toll.

Over the past 10 years, Mr Hussain said, there had been an increase of 93,000 patients but a loss of 84 surgeries and one fifth fewer GPs. He sought a pledge from the FM to save surgeries and fully fund the workforce.

The FM denied the claim that GPs were “leaving in droves”. It was an exaggeration to view the situation as a crisis that underplayed the resilience of the system. GP Committee Wales had paused contract negotiations. In the last 12 months GP headcount in Wales had increased by 4% with a 1% growth in full-time equivalents. Similarly, there was growth in trainee GPs and among wider primary practice staff. On every measure, Mr Drakeford insisted, numbers were growing not falling.

WATER QUALITY Much has been said in the Senedd and media about the pollution of rivers and coastal waters in Wales. Phosphate pollution in the Wye is the highest in Wales, with several other rivers failing from a similar cause.

Minister Julie James referred to a recent summit to bring together sectors to tackle every source of pollution. She referred to one positive contribution from a farmer who was part of a collective, Stump up for Trees.

The farmer had been determined to stop his land from polluting a river he loved, she said. A series of small steps that he had taken eliminated agricultural runoff from his farm.

This initiative would be reflected in the WG’s new sustainable farming scheme. This might enable assistance to farmers to capture phosphates, a valuable resource (other than in rivers), and help farmers package it up and send it to where it was needed.

A common nutrient calculator was under development to assist farmers with a baseline so that they could know when and what to spread, and to establish whether it was of benefit to their land.

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SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

By Christine McGiveron LAW AND ORDER In December, a bill to reform and modernise the law relating to judicial factors was published. Judicial factors are appointed by courts to look after property belonging to someone else – where a solicitor has been found in breach of accounting rules, say, or a sole practitioner dies. They may also be appointed to wind up the estate of a deceased person or to oversee charity property or the estate of a missing person.

The Judicial Factors (Scotland) Bill introduces a framework that sets out the essential features of the office of the judicial factor and how it should operate.

Minister Siobhian Brown said: “The existing legislation on judicial factors dates back to the 19th century and is now regarded by those who use it as outdated, with a cumbersome procedure which is no longer fit for purpose.

“The Scottish Law Commission examined the issues... The provisions in the Bill aim to put in place an updated and comprehensive regime, which will bring clarity, accessibility and efficiency to this vital but outmoded area of law.”

Separately, a new approach aimed at reducing domestic abuse-related homicides and suicides received overwhelming backing in December. The proposals for a Domestic Homicide and Suicide Review Model will help identify what lessons can be learned following the death of a partner, ex-partner or child where abuse is suspected.

Nine out of 10 people who took part in a consultation – including those with direct experience of domestic abuse and

bereavement – supported the proposal.

Justice secretary Angela Constance said: “Nobody should die at the hands of a partner. While overall homicide rates are falling, there remains a significant number involving domestic where vast majorities of victims are women.

"Our plans would see agencies across justice, health and social care, the third sector and beyond work together to establish what could be done better. By identifying areas for improvement, we can help prevent further deaths and give a voice to those who have been killed.”

SECOND HOMES New powers enabling councils to charge up to double the full rate of council tax on second homes were agreed by the Scottish Parliament in December.

Councils will be able to increase the charges from 1 April, with rates for the first year based on those from 2023/24.

The change brings second homes into line with council tax policy on long-term

Councils can now charge up to double council tax on second homes empty homes and aims to increase housing availability by encouraging more homes to be used for living in.

New owners of properties that have previously been empty for more than 12 months will now have a six-month grace period during which they will be protected from paying double the full council tax rate, with the potential for this to be extended by councils.

This is subject to evidence that

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In Parliament renovations or repairs are being undertaken by the owner with a view to the building being brought back into use.

Public finance minister Tom Arthur said: “These changes were a commitment made in our Programme for Government to make sure the tax system works as an incentive to prioritise homes for living in. By protecting those renovating an empty home from paying the empty home premium, we are incentivising new ownership and giving them time to organise and undertake the work necessary to bring it back into use.”

EQUALITY AND RIGHTS In December, it was announced that research by the Scottish government’s advisory group on migration sets out how enabling asylum seekers to gain employment could improve their health and wellbeing and reduce the risk of exploitation.

Allowing asylum seekers the right to work could help them settle into communities better while boosting Scotland’s economy and workforce. This would also help fill gaps in the workforce and see increased council tax paid directly to local authorities that host asylum seekers. The report will underpin proposals for a Scottish Asylum Right to Work pilot, to be submitted to the Home Office in 2024.

Minister Emma Roddick said: “Scotland provides a welcoming home to many seeking asylum. The government will use this report to design a proposal to work within the current devolution settlement, but only independence would give us power to implement a full Scottish asylum system rooted in respect for human rights.

“We also find substantial evidence of the barriers people seeking asylum face on entering the labour force. These will require careful consideration by government. Wider measures to provide adequate reception, settlement and integration services will be required.”

NORTHERN IRELAND

By Tony McMullan

After extensive discussions between the UK government and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on changes to the Windsor Agreement, the DUP agreed to go back into four-party power-sharing in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Assembly was called back for an emergency session on 3 February at which the speaker, first and deputy first ministers and eight departmental ministers were appointed. Sinn Fein holds the first minister and three minister posts, the DUP holds deputy first minister and two minister posts, the Alliance Party two ministers and the Ulster Unionists one minister.

From the next edition of The Pensioner we hope to report on the workings of the renewed Executive and Assembly. For this edition, we will focus on matters dealt with by the Commissioner for Older People and several government departments.

CONCESSIONARY FARES SCHEME The consultation on the concessionary fares scheme from last summer drew more than 7,000 responses, including one from the CSPA NI. Most responses were said to be highly critical of the intention to curtail the availability of public transport to older people. When the consultation closed, the Department of Infrastructure said it hoped to bring forward recommendations on the way forward within two or three months, but nothing has yet been announced.

TV LICENCES After the government announced a higher TV licence fee, Eddie Lynch, NI Commissioner for Older People, said: “Whilst the increase in the TV licence fee of £10.50 per year was less than speculated,

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it will still cost £169.50 to hold an annual TV licence – a significant amount for older people who are struggling to pay the current fee. Tens of thousands of older people in Northern Ireland were impacted when the TV licence concession was removed in 2020 and this increase will be another blow to them during this cost of living crisis.”

WATER AND SEWERAGE CHARGES The Department for Infrastructure launched a consultation on water and sewerage charges after Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris insisted all departments had to support budget sustainability and raise more revenue.

Separate water charging is controversial in Northern Ireland as some water charges are already paid through the rating system. The CSPA NI believes raising water charges will have a big impact on many retired civil servants on modest pensions. They will consult with members on how best to respond.

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION In January, the Commissioner for Older People launched advantAGE, a photography exhibition in Holywood Library displaying the rich, diverse lives of older people in Northern Ireland, to dispel negative perceptions.

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR A joint consultation between the Departments for Communities and Justice was launched in November, concluding 4 March. It will focus on four areas: antisocial behaviour orders; drinking in public places; injunctions against anti-social behaviour; and absolute grounds for possession in social housing. The CSPA NI will respond to the consultation.

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Feedback

Your views … inviting letters, comments and tweets

GET IN TOUCH

Write to us at CSPA head office, Floor 8, Grosvenor House, 125 High Street, Croydon CR0 9XP or email editor@cspa.co.uk or tweet @mschrisbuckley

POEM: ON RETIREMENT RAILCARDS AND HEARING Re your discounts feature, your members may like to be aware that simply using hearing aids allows the purchase [£20] of a Disabled Person Railcard. This allows for a third off rail tickets, and the great advantage over any other railcards

is that it operates any time of day and applies to one other person travelling with the holder. [Can be different people at different times.]

David Bettoney, Bottisham

BREXIT MEANS FREEDOM...

... AND HELPING UKRAINE

In the Winter edition, Alan Pavelin asks if we now have any freedoms we did not have in the EU. If a party in government at Westminster passes an Act of Parliament with which I do not agree, at the next election I can vote for a party that has said it will repeal it. It is of course up to me to balance the various calls on my vote made by the main parties. Not a perfect system perhaps but I feel I have a say.

I asked and asked before Brexit, but never found out, how I could vote against an EU Directive. Perhaps if all member states had stuck to the rules I might have accepted matters. The way in which the Wild Birds Directive is applied is a good example. We protect our wild birds; some Mediterranean states slaughter them.

I never felt I’d lost any freedoms when we were in the Common Market.

John Davidson, Armadale, Scotland

Alan Pavelin (Winter 2023) says he cannot see what Ukraine has to do with the freedom claimed to have been gained from Brexit. It’s got everything to do with it. In early 2022, the UK was the first country to supply Ukraine with shoulderlaunched anti-air and anti-tank weapons.

A year later it was the first to agree to supply Challenger 2 tanks. It was some weeks before the US and Germany agreed to supply tanks.

The UK went on to supply long-range missiles. The US and others were reluctant to do so. The reason we were ahead is we don’t have to hold a meeting involving 27 nations.

Finally, look at the development of the vaccine to combat Covid. The UK was first out of the blocks. Remember what Ursula van der Leyen said: a country on its own like the UK can seem like a ‘speedboat’ compared to the EU ‘tanker’.

Patrick Burke, London

STAY OFF SOCIAL MEDIA Kieran McGoldrick (Helpdesk, Winter 2023) omits the most obvious method of staying safe on social media – get off it! As Baby Boomers, we managed quite well without if for 50 years. If you need to maintain groups of contacts without adverts or scammers, use WhatsApp. Leave the likes of Facebook and Snapchat

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to those generations who have become addicted and many of whom now suffer so-called “mental health” issues!

Roger Unwin, Bristol The best way to avoid scams and keep your personal data safe on social media

A wave of relief washes over me like a gentle-running stream, no more deadlines pressing; of this I dared not dream.

No more sleepless nights spent fretting about plans on which I would be judged, no more talks to be constructed or facing issues which had been fudged.

I bask a while to enjoy the sun rising and falling over these new days, I watch the players playing knowing I need only laze.

This cannot change but over time it does, I start to think of all that I could do; those out there in the cauldron still need my talents, maybe my days are not quite through.

Time speeds by and many a setting sun, things settle and I feel content to wait a while, not rush back to all that this once meant.

When I stir from my contentment I strain and look out from the shore, I see specks which once were people their shouts so faint they are no more.

The ticket I booked at the station clasped tightly in my hand, ‘one-way ticket’ it states in tiny print – I shall never know where is the promised land.

David Monk, Neston, Cheshire

is to avoid it entirely. An added bonus is that you ‘miss’ all the hate and conspiracy theory nutters along the way.

There was life before social media you know.

Steve Grantham, North Yorkshire

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Feedback WHO WATCHES THE WATCHERS? Readers interested in the internal workings of the CSPA may have read the report on page 39 in the Autumn 2023 edition of The Pensioner about West Mercia Group’s complaint concerning the inappropriate content of Group Circular 938, which we believe

From West Mercia, 2 January West Mercia Group was astonished to receive the General Secretary’s letter of 8 December 2023 relaying the Executive Council’s belated decision to ‘close’ our longstanding complaint about the inappropriate content of Group Circular 938 as they deem the matter to have been concluded.

We complained promptly and forcibly from May 2023 onwards about the unfairness to other potential candidates of the General Secretary’s decision to publicise in GC 938 the personal electoral wishes of the (then) National Chair and the (then) National Vice Chair to all the groups and branches in advance of the electoral process.

Our expectation of the CSPA, in line with accepted good practice in handling complaints, was for our serious complaint to be: • investigated competently, diligently and impartially, • assessed, in the light of the investigation, by the EC fairly, consistently and promptly.

The aim should always be to seek to resolve complaints, including by learning lessons. None of these elements appear to have been present, judging by the opaque nature of the concluding letter sent to us on the EC’s behalf.

As we have pointed out, the requirements concerning complaints and behaviour, contained in Rule 11 and in

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affected the running of the 2023 national elections.

We have updated the situation in this edition, following the astonishing decision in December by the Executive Council to ‘close’ our complaint as it ‘deems’ it to have been concluded.

No explanation was forthcoming about the repeated failure by all the responsible office holders to follow

CSPA rules in dealing with our serious complaint and to conduct an investigation! Fair elections are the foundation of democracy in any membership organisation.

Readers may wish to read our group’s formal response to the EC’s decision below.

David Humphreys, West Mercia Group Secretary

appendices 2 and 3 of the CSPA rules and constitution, have been ignored by the various responsible office holders. Crucially, there has been no investigation of our complaint. (The personal views of the Chief Scrutineer, who has no locus in the matter, do not constitute an investigation.)

Without a competent investigation, followed by a demonstrably fair assessment, there simply cannot be a proper conclusion by the EC of the complaint by West Mercia Group.

another senior EC member at the Chair’s request in November 2023 for investigation under the terms of Rule 11. After thorough consideration, the advice of the investigating officers was that the complaint raised meant it did not fall within the remit of the CSPA rules and constitution under Rule 11, and Appendices 2 and 3, as these set out disciplinary procedures to be employed in the event of a complaint alleging misconduct, whilst the issue raised was more process related.

The investigating officers further concluded that the actions taken in referring the matter to the Chief Scrutineer had sufficiently addressed the concerns about any potential impact of the wording of GC 938/23 on the 2023 election process. In the light of this, the EC took the decision to close the complaint as the formal processes had been exhausted, and I was asked to confirm this to the West Mercia Group.

It is recognised that any situation including this one – albeit a very exceptional set of circumstances – presents a useful opportunity to be reminded of the need for absolute clarity around member communications intended to be helpful, especially those in relation to CSPA elections.

I am very sorry that the West Mercia Group have not been satisfied with this outcome but can only seek to reassure that all reasonable steps have been taken and the correct procedures were followed in dealing with the concerns raised.

From General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris: My letter of 8 December 2023 to David Humphreys and the West Mercia Group has been misunderstood in their assumption that the EC had not investigated and assessed their complaint under the Rule 11 (and Appendices 2 and 3) of the CSPA rules and constitution.

The complaint was initially referred to the Chief Scrutineer, who is in charge of the electoral process, in September 2023. In summary, the Chief Scrutineer’s assessment was that the wording of GC 938/23 had neither impacted the election process prior to the 2023 AGM, nor ultimately influenced its outcome in any substantive way.

The Chief Scrutineer’s findings were shared with the West Mercia Group, members of the EC and the Standing Orders Committee prior to the CSPA AGM last year, and the matter was again reviewed by the Standing Orders Committee at their meeting prior to the AGM in October 2023.

As David Humphreys had expressed his dissatisfaction with the Chief Scrutineer’s assessment, and wanted the complaint taken further, I subsequently referred the matter to the National Treasurer and

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Will writing

W

ith the current cost of living crisis, we are all trying to make savings where possible. In the past few months, a number of members have told me they have taken my advice and made a will, but because their affairs are “not complicated” and they are leaving everything to their spouse/children, they have written the will themselves.

I can understand this, but there are several reasons why I would not advise it: 1. Even if a will may appear simple, if a small mistake is made, this could make the will invalid or have consequences you would not have wanted.

2. If a will is considered to be invalid, the rules of intestacy will apply and this may mean that those you do not wish to inherit will do so.

3. A DIY will is unlikely to cover a change of circumstances, such as the breakdown of a relationship, new grandchildren or the death of someone named in the will, and may therefore be out of date at the time of your death.

4. A legally drafted will can help with inheritance tax planning and in some cases reduce the cost of care.

Unravelling mistakes When I was in legal practice, I saw many cases where homemade wills had to be unravelled. Issues I came across included: 1. A will not being signed correctly. There are very strict rules about signing a will and if these are not followed to the letter, this could make the will invalid.

There was one case where the pen ran out of ink during the signing process and the colour was switched from blue pen

If even a small mistake is made, this could make the will invalid

Contact Affinity Resolutions

Affinity Resolutions offers a helpline/signposting service on legal matters, which is free to members.

The helpline is operational during normal business.

In order to access the service the member first needs to register online

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The pitfalls of DIY Bernard Seymour advises against writing your own will to black pen, and the court queried the validity of the will.

2. The number of executors appointed in the will was wrong. It is a common misconception in a simple will that only one executor is required. There are situations when two executors are needed. In one matter I dealt with, a professional executor had to step in, which meant that the whole process was more costly.

3. Ambiguity is the biggest risk. A will is drafted with tight legal language and the court will interpret wishes very strictly. If there is ambiguity, this can lead to either a possible challenge by a family member or that part of the will failing. In my experience, wills that resulted in a legal challenge occurred more because of ambiguity than due to someone who believed they should inherit not doing so.

4. Assets changing but there being no provision in the will to compensate for

at www.affinityresolutions.co.uk/join/ We are aware that a number of members do not have internet access, and in those situations we will always help without registration.

The link takes members to the joining page and to our FAQs. If a member needs further advice, we work with a number of organisations who can provide this.

this. In one very sad case, the will set out specifically what each grandchild would inherit. After death, it became clear that some savings had been used to provide for care and this particular savings account no longer existed.

This part of the will failed and the grandchildren received nothing.

In conclusion, my advice is always to take professional advice. You may find that the cost of making a will is not as expensive as you thought. I can say with certainty that the cost of unravelling a poorly drafted will is likely to be greater.

• Harvey Howell Solicitors offers free seminars to give you professional advice and answer your questions. The first of these is in the North West.

For details see p32.

Contact our helpline by calling 03300 55 25 30 or email: hello@affinityresolutions.co.uk

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Membership

Helpdesk BC Technologies’ Grant Emery reminds us of some all-important IT housekeeping tasks Spam/junk emails It’s too late for new year resolutions but it’s never too late to manage your mailbox. When you see an email from a mystery address or even one that looks like it could be from someone you know, here are some key points to look out for to tell if it’s real or a scam: 1. Check it matches the display name, which is usually to the left of the address. If these don’t match, then we would advise blocking and deleting the email.

2. Review the email contents. If you are looking through an email and see website links, we would advise not clicking on any unless you are 100% sure that it is a legitimate link to something you use or are aware of.

These are the two main points we always look out for as an IT company that supports multiple clients on a daily basis.

Scam phone calls Another common scam we have noticed recently is scam callers impersonating

Antivirus action Your PC is a lot safer if you have an active antivirus program installed. These can be paid for but there are some out there that are free of charge.

Antiviruses are a key resource for keeping your PC safe from malware and Intruders, they do regular scans on your PC to ensure nothing malicious has been installed and they alert you if they find something.

Here are some antivirus programs we recommend: • MalwareBytes • Hitman Pro • Avast • AVG • Macafee

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broadband or banking companies. The purpose of these calls is to lull you into a false sense of security and ask for a sixdigit passcode, usually text to your phone.

Most companies include in these text messages that if someone is on the phone asking for this code, hang up the call.

To put it simply, if you ever find yourself in a call and someone asks you for a security code, be extra careful and read everything in the message.

Speeding up your PC Is your PC running rather slowly? Do you need to find ways to speed it up? Here are some tips and tricks to gain some speed.

Ensure your recycle bin is empty. This contains old files in the hard drive, which take up unnecessary space. You can double click on the recycle bin to view its contents just in case there is anything you need. Once you are certain this can be deleted, right-click on the recycle bin and select ‘empty’.

Windows updates are another key way to keep your PC up to date and achieve the best performance. To check for updates on your PC, go to Settings, select Update and Security or Windows Updates which will take you to the update screen. There you can see a button that says “Check for updates”. If you select

Empty your bin - old files in the hard drive take up unnecessary space that, it will scan the PC and show you any updates that are pending. Once they are installed you can restart the PC and the updates will be in place.

Restarting your PC can help also with improving performance. We always recommend restarting your PC before shutting down at night. This allows your PC to restart all of its internal services, so that your PC is fresh and ready to go when you start it up again.

Free computer support To contact BC Technologies for free advice and support, telephone 0330 800 1010, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, or email cspa@bc-group.co.uk at any time.

Please quote ‘CSPA’ when contacting BC Technologies to assist them in dealing with your query.

New developments in AI Last year AI (artificial intelligence) made a significant impact on the internet, with huge developments in all areas, from text generation to AI that can mimic voices.

I am sure you will have heard about it as it was – and still is – being covered by various news outlets, reflecting how impressive the technology has become in such a short time.

At the start of 2023, it felt like image generation AI was very much in its early stages, with some patchy results, but just a year later it feels like AI can produce very realistic images that can trick even the keenest of eyes, even if just for a moment.

While AI has been embraced by the world for all of its impressive and creative features, it has unfortunately also been exploited. There have been many instances of people using AI to fake the actions of others. Faces and voices can be replicated through AI and make convincing videos, so it’s likely that 2024 will see a rise in AI being used for crime too.

Although it’s a new year, there are still thousands of scammers whose new year’s resolutions are not to ‘stop scamming people’. So it’s as important as ever to keep an eye out for any potential threats in emails, phone calls and websites.

It’s important not to forget how wonderful technology can be too, so maybe this year you should try dabbling in AI just for fun – but also stay vigilant.

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Puzzles

SUDOKU

WIN

£50 of M&S vouchers

PER PUZZLE

Closing date: 30 April 2024. The judge’s decision is final. The winner will be notified by phone and announced in the next issue. If you don’t want your name published please let us know.

Complete the sudoku and send with your contact details to: Prize Competition, CSPA, Grosvenor House, 125 High Street, Croydon CR0 9XP. You can enter the prize draw for both the sudoku and the crossword (overleaf) if you wish.

The winner of the Winter sudoku is Peter Brewer, Farnham

Name

Last issue’s solution

Address

Postcode

Phone

E-mail

The CSPA may wish to send you membership-related information by email in the future.

If you are happy to hear from us for this purpose, please tick this box: You can change your mind at any time. We will not pass on your data to third parties.

To view our privacy policy visit: https://www.cspa.co.uk/privacy-policy/

WPIRNITNEG S R II S SS SU U EE 22 0 0 2243

| The Pensioner

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Puzzles

CROSSWORD

Across 1

___Burke: Irish politician and philosopher (6)

7

Personification of US government (5,3)

8

Fabulous bird that menaced Sinbad (3)

9

Polish/Cossack military commander (6)

10 Yuki-___ : snow spirit in Japanese folklore (4) 11 Kofi ___ : UN Secretary-General 1997-2006 (5) 13 The UK’s second smallest city (2,5) 15 Green-glazed pottery (7) 17

___ viridis: the green woodpecker (5)

21 The Beehive State (4) 22 Mark ___ : Star Wars actor (6) 23 The Bottle ___ : short story by Robert Louis Stevenson (3) 24 Wine flavoured with aromatic herbs (8) 25 German city, formerly Charlemagne’s capital (6)

Down 1 2

Closing date: 30 April 2024. The judge’s decision is final. The winner will be notified by phone and announced in the next issue. If you don’t want your name published please let us know.

Archimedes’ exclamation of success (6) Arthur ___ : author of The Great God Pan (6)

3

Italian cathedral (5)

4

Poisonous plant also known as wolfsbane (7)

Complete the crossword and send with your contact details to: Prize Competition, CSPA, Grosvenor House, 125 High Street, Croydon CR0 9XP.

5

The Big ___ : Coen brothers film (8)

6

Plant irresistible to felines (6)

You can enter the prize draw for both the sudoku (previous page) and the crossword if you wish.

12

The winner of the Winter crossword is Carolyn Foster, Wirral

16 Biblical heroine (6)

___ Device: a witch in Pratchett and Gaiman’s Good Omens (8)

14 Former state of NW India (7) 18 Harun al-Rashid, for one (6) 19 Steven ___ : US historian of science (6)

Name

20 D-Day beach (5)

Address

Last issue’s solution

Postcode

Phone

E-mail The CSPA may wish to send you membership-related information by email in the future.

If you are happy to hear from us for this purpose, please tick this box: You can change your mind at any time. We will not pass on your data to third parties.

To view our privacy policy visit: https://www.cspa.co.uk/privacy-policy/

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| The Pensioner

Something else that annoys me…

Last word

Chris Proctor tries to find the point of all those pointless signs around us

S

igns vex me. I don’t like tin messages draped all over the street, but I’d overlook them if they served a purpose. But most of them contain no useful information.

Outside an arts centre down the road from me, a yellow triangular metal sign blocks the pavement. On it is an arrow, pointing into the venue. Underneath is the single word ‘Art’. Well, me-oh-my. No one would have expected art in an art gallery. I was expecting fish.

There’s a fair-sized blackboard to trip over outside the Bull inscribed with the words ‘Real ale here’. There’s a surprise.

I’d not anticipated a pub selling beer. I’m minded to carry around a spray-paint can to eliminate unnecessary messages.

They’re digging up our road. They’ve been doing it for ages. There are lads started straight from school and are due for retirement who’ve never worked anywhere else. No one can remember our street without roadworks. Anyway, as you walk along the path, your progress is halted by an eight-foot security fence with a sign dangling from it announcing ‘Pavement Closed’. Do I need this? Could I not guess it was shut from the presence of the fence?

The sides of motorways are littered with signs urging me to reconsider my skincare, go to Lidl, buy a washing machine, be alert when I’m driving... How can I be alert when my vision is cluttered with distractions? Take the signs away and I’ll have a look at the road.

Then if you get to a road junction, sign bedlam erupts. You’re faced with a battery of metal plates, arranged in no particular order, each bearing the name

of some random hamlet or metropolis.

The only certainty is the place you seek is not there: or if it is, it is cunningly placed so it can only be seen from a vehicle in the wrong lane. It is a mass gathering of signs with the effect of conveying nothing but your own helplessness.

The only positive I can say about signs is that I know a good story about one.

It’s a joke. Brace yourself. Here goes: a sign on a deli counter reads ‘Please do not sit your child on the bacon slicer, we are getting a little behind in our orders.’

It cracks me up. I must have heard it when I was about 10 and I tell it to myself regularly to this day.

I’ve actually got another corker about a bus, but I won’t tell it now. I’ll save it in case we meet in person one day and there is a conversational lull.

To proceed: there are signs on your shirts with ludicrous diagrams. And even in text messages. I got a text from a mate the other day saying he was in France.

Simple message, easily understood. But then he spoiled it by adding a sign – an emoji, I believe. After ‘France’ are three cartoons: the Eiffel Tower, a tricolour flag and a baguette.

Why? I can see that if you are communicating

We’re turning ourselves into mobile signboards... trumpeting the name of some desperate retailer or retired pop group or trite comment SPRING ISSUE 2024

| The Pensioner

with a person with reading difficulties, visual aids are beneficial. But I don’t have a reading problem. He knows this or he wouldn’t have written to me in the first place. I can interpret the word ‘France’ without the aid of berets and onions.

And this is only the start of it. We not only accept a phone and a countryside littered with pointless signs; we are all turning ourselves into mobile signboards. There’s not a person down the street whose clothing doesn’t trumpet the name or logo of some desperate retailer or retired pop group or a trite comment invented by an unimaginative acquaintance.

‘Daddy’s little sweetheart’ on a toddler’s top makes my canspray finger twitch.

On the other hand I did see a bloke recently whose T-shirt said: ‘Village Idiot’. You have to have the right appearance and stance to wear this. If I had it on, people would believe me, possibly patting my head. I wouldn’t like that.

We can do away with signs. Especially the one on Hampstead Heath advising ‘Toilets are used at your own risk’ (Of what?); the signs saying ‘Danger of Death’ on a metal box clearly labelled ‘ten zillion volts’; and stickers on a petrol pump advising against smoking.

Worse of all is the single word ‘Private’ on a door. It just encourages me to try turning the knob.

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Contact us CSPA head office Floor 8, Grosvenor House, 125 High Street, Croydon CR0 9XP 020 8688 8418 www.cspa.co.uk

Roisin Lilley 14 Cyprus Gardens, Belfast BT5 6FB 028 9065 8513 roisincspa@gmail.com

General secretary Sally Tsoukaris sally.tsoukaris@cspa.co.uk

Wilson McDonald 95 Eastwoodmains Road, Clarkston, Glasgow G76 7HG 07596 028119 Wilson.Macdonald@cspa.co.uk

Deputy general secretary David Luxton david.luxton@cspa.co.uk Digital campaigns manager Verity Morrish verity.morrish@cspa.co.uk National treasurer Michael Sparham M.Sparham@CSPA.co.uk Pensions and personal case manager Christine Haswell christine.haswell@cspa.co.uk Editor, The Pensioner Christine Buckley editor@cspa.co.uk

PRESIDENT Brian Sturtevant 1 Harmans Drive, East Grinstead, RH19 3XY 01342 325245 brian.sturtevant@cspa.co.uk VICE-PRESIDENT Mike Lawler 7 The Creek, Wallasey CH45 3NW 0151 345 7207 mike.lawler@live.co.uk

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Chair Linda Ridgers-Waite 83 Elmfield Road, London E17 7HJ 020 8509 3387 cspalindaridgerswaite@gmail.com Vice Chair Vacant EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS – NATIONAL Charles Cochrane 3 The Seeleys, Harlow CM17 0AD 07850 913582 charmal@ntlworld.com

Christine McGiveron 12 Benmore, Prestwick, Ayrshire KA9 2LS 01292 891033 Christine.McGiveron@cspa.co.uk Tony McMullan 28 Cambourne Mews, Newtownards, County Down BT23 4WB tony.mcmullan@outlook.com 07902 617 095 Les Priestley 16 Shire Oak Drive, Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8HU 01226 741341 lindapriestley@sky.com Richard West 37 Tanager Close, Norwich NR3 3QD 01603 423144 richardwest08@gmail.com Rosemary White Top Flat, 18 Newington Green, London N16 9PU 0202 7249 6047/07580 982280 r.white789@btinternet.com

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS – REGIONAL Eastern Region Susan Hennah-Barham 17 Four Acres, Fenstanton Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28 9QF Greater London Dr David Owen 164 Littleheath Road, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 7SF 0208 657 1073 private.drdavidowen@ btinternet.com

© 2024. The Pensioner magazine is published by Square7 Media Ltd on behalf of the Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance (CSPA). All rights reserved. The CSPA and the publishers declare that any publication of any advertisement does not carry their endorsement or sponsorship of the advertiser or their products unless so indicated. Contributions are invited and, whether or not accepted, submissions will be returned only if accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. No responsibility can be taken for drawings, photographs or literary contributions during transmission or while in the publisher’s hands. Proof of receipt is no guarantee of appearance. In the absence

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NORTHERN IRELAND BRANCH Branch president Alastair Hunter 2 Clanbrassil Terrace, Clanbrassil Road, Holywood BT18 OAP cspani2k@hotmail.com

Midlands Region Kevin Billson 37 Galsworthy Crescent, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE13 1JD 07827 320 413 kevinbillson@ntlworld.com North East Andy Aitchison 2 Oldfield Close, Barnby Dun, Doncaster DN3 1RP 01302 883323 andy.aitchison@talktalk.net

Branch chair Stan Blayney 63 Marlborough Park South, Belfast BT9 6HS blayney_s@yahoo.co.uk 02890878999

North West Harry Brett 46 Severn Way, Holmes Chapel, Crewe CW4 8FT 07999 874864 harry-brett@outlook.co.uk Southern Greg Mountain The Elms, 2 Partridge Lane, Twineham, Haywards Heath RH17 5QS 01444 211181 greg.mountain@outlook.com South West Les Calder 33 Rendells Meadow, Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbott TQ13 9QW 01626 830266 landmcalder@btinternet.com Wales Vacant EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ADVISERS Health policy adviser Jean Hardiman Smith 31 Links Avenue, Little Sutton, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire CH66 1QS 0151 208 4879 healthadvisor@cspa.co.uk

STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE Mr R Lewis Mrs E Turner Mr K Yallop

Branch secretary Tony McMullan 28 Cambourne Mews, Newtownards, County Down BT23 4WB tony.mcmullan@outlook.com 07902 617 095 Branch treasurer/ membership secretary Roisin Lilley 14 Cyprus Gardens, Belfast BT5 6FB 028 9065 8513 roisincspa@gmail.com SCOTLAND BRANCH Branch chair Wilson MacDonald 95 Eastwoodmains Road, Clarkston, Glasgow G76 7HG 07596 028119 Branch administrator Christine McGiveron 12 Benmore, Prestwick, Ayrshire KA9 2LS 01292 891033 Christine.McGiveron@cspa.co.uk Branch treasurer Cherry Dolan 19 Ashwood Place, Forfar, Angus DD8 1FE 01307 479583 Cherry.Dolan@cspa.co.uk Branch membership secretary for Scotland Michael B Kirby 14 Raasay Gardens, Newton Mearns, Glasgow G77 6TH 07969 405263 Michael.Kirby@cspa.co.uk

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SPRING ISSUE 2024

| The Pensioner