THE MAGAZINE FOR MEMBERS OF THE CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONERS’ ALLIANCE
The cut to the winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners has dominated the agenda of the CSPA and other pensioner groups over recent months.
Our General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary have attended protests outside parliament, lobbying hard with partner groups on the issue.
It was also debated at our Annual General Meeting in October as speakers highlighted concerns about pensioners falling into poverty and suffering in cold homes.
You can read about it in our News section, our new In Politics section, and the columns by Sally Tsoukaris and David Luxton.
We also have an interview with Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, who addresses the issue and the work from his department.
It’s also time for you to have your say on the democratic structure of the CSPA following work to make it more dynamic and relevant amid changes in the network of branches and local groups. Please take a moment to complete our short survey.
Our supplement outlines our programme for action for next year with a full record of the decisions made at the AGM.
We will be back with you in spring. In the meantime, I hope you all have a Happy Christmas and holiday period and a very good 2025.
ISSN - 1360-3132
Head Office, 160 Falcon Road, London SE11 2LN 020 8688 8418 enquiries@cspa.co.uk www.cspa.co.uk
General Secretary: Sally Tsoukaris sally.tsoukaris@cspa.co.uk 020 8688 8418
NEWS ROUND-UP 4
Plus a report from the National Pensioners Convention in Blackpool
GENERAL SECRETARY 8
Sally Tsoukaris looks back at campaigning issues and the AGM
SURVEY: CSPA STRUCTURE 11 Your chance to have a say on the processes that affect members
MCCLOUD/REMEDY 15
Christine Haswell explains what the Remedy means to you
SIR STEPHEN TIMMS 16
The Minister for Social Security and Disability on government priorities
DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY 18
David Luxton reviews the pension rises PUBLIC TOILETS 20
What are campaigners doing about the chronic lack of public toilets?
BRANCH & GROUP NEWS 22
Find out what members across the country have been up to this autumn
Changes of address or other information enquiries@cspa.co.uk or 020 8688 8418
Scotland changes of address: Michael Kirby Michael.Kirby@cspa.co.uk or 07969 405263 Freepost RUHB-AGAL-SSUA
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Publisher: Gaynor Garton
Advertising sales: Ethan Hall hello@square7media.co.uk
Editorial production: Kate Wheal
Design and art direction: Charlotte Russell
Remembering John McGiveron
With a heavy heart, Scotland Branch officers have announced the passing of John McGiveron after a short illness.
John served 26 years as a Customs and Revenue officer, beginning in Liverpool parcel post, then South One, Gladstone Dock (Liverpool container terminal).
He then ‘emigrated’ to Scotland in 1974 and worked for the rest of his career at Prestwick International airport, becoming a ‘trainer assessor’ before taking early retirement in 1996.
Following this, he accepted a position as a ticket examiner with Scotrail travelling on the West Coast Line down to South Ayrshire. An opportunity came his way to have a complete change of career,
John had a wicked sense of humour and we were often on the receiving end of it
Call for UN action
Age International and other groups including the CSPA are petitioning Foreign Secretary David Lammy (pictured) to champion the creation of a United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.
The petition says: “The UK government has a strong track record of promoting human rights globally and our world is ageing. By 2050, over two billion people will be aged 60 and over. Today, older people everywhere, including older people with disabilities, face human rights violations, and the current international human rights framework is not protecting their rights adequately.”
A UN Convention would help to:
1. Combat age discrimination and ageism
and John had some fun by becoming a ‘support actor’ on some of Scotland’s popular soap operas – High Road, Still Game and Taggart, to name just a few –as well as a film with Robert Duvall and Ally McCoist.
John joined the CSPA Scotland Branch in 2008 and became Glasgow & District Group Vice Chair, with Bob Flavill as Chair, in 2014. Bob retired in 2017 due to health problems and John was elected as Branch Chair at the Branch AGM the same year, stepping down from the Glasgow & District Vice Chair position.
John was also elected to the CSPA Executive Council, where he continued to enjoy working for and on behalf of the Scotland Branch members.
There is a saying that everyone from Liverpool thinks they are a comedian, but those who encountered John will know that he had a wicked sense of humour –
2. Ensure access to healthcare, social care and other essential services
3. Protect older people from violence, abuse and neglect
4. Safeguard the right to work and financial security in older age
5. Promote the active participation of older people in society.
To sign the petition, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/5c5976yh
and were often on the receiving end of it. John’s favourite pastime was building scale models of locomotives and rolling stock, a hobby he was particularly talented at. He also enjoyed the occasional single malt whisky!
John worked tirelessly alongside the other branch officers until ill health forced him to step down from his position as Chair, and eventually all CSPA duties.
John is survived by his loving wife Christine.
Pensions to increase by 1.7%
Civil service pensions will increase by just 1.7% from April next year, following the Office for National Statistics’ announcement of the September increase in the Consumers Prices Index (CPI). It is the lowest annual increase for four years.
Civil service pension increases are determined by the September CPI figure. Before 2011, however, the increases were linked to the Retail Prices Index, which is usually higher.
David Luxton, the CSPA’s Deputy General Secretary, said: “The increase of only 1.7% from next year will disappoint many members, who are still struggling with higher energy prices from October, and the continuing high cost of food after the sharp price increases over the past two years.”
Fury over winter fuel payment cuts
A wave of protest from pensioner groups, the CSPA and trade unions has been triggered by the government’s decision to stop winter fuel payments to pensioners who do not receive pension credit or other means-tested benefits.
The move, announced in the October Budget, wasn’t in Labour’s manifesto ahead of the general election in July and affects millions of pensioners.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended the move, citing a black hole in the government’s finances.
The CSPA condemned the move in emergency motions at its AGM in October. And it was one of many organisations to attend a protest against the cuts at the Houses of Parliament (pictured).
Sally Tsoukaris, CSPA General Secretary,
The CSPA
joined a protest against the fuel payment cuts outside Parliament
speaking at the rally, warned that the removal of the universal winter fuel payment – between £200 and £300, depending on age – could be the start of means-testing of other pensioner benefits including the state pension. She said that many pensioners were living only just above the poverty line, and a high number don’t receive pension credit or know that they may be entitled to it.
Age UK has launched a petition with the aim of signing up 650,000 people protesting against the cut. To sign it too, visit: https://tinyurl.com/ywutvzdc – as The Pensioner went to press, Age UK was 83,700 short of its target.
Unite the union is taking the government to judicial review to try to restore the payment. Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said it wasn’t too late for the Labour government to step back from the move. She led calls for a reversal of the cut at the Labour Party conference in October, backed by other trade unions.
Timms says triple-lock compensates for fuel loss
Social security and disability minister
Sir Stephen Timms has said the government’s commitment to the triple-lock should mean the loss of the winter fuel payment for some will be “more than made up for” by improvements in overall income.
In an interview with The Pensioner, he said the triple-lock will deliver an increase in pension income of at least £1,000 a year. “So the setback from the loss of the winter fuel allowance for some will be, we think, more than made up for.” He urged more pensioners to claim the benefits to which they
are entitled. “We want to highlight the importance of applying for pension credit; those who receive [it] will continue to get the winter fuel allowance and access to other support.”
Like the Chancellor, Sir Stephen blamed the cut on a black hole in the government finances left by the previous administration. In the interview, he also pledged to help the disabled and tackle problems with the carer’s allowance that have seen thousands of people forced to repay large amounts of money because of accidental breaches of the regulations.
• See interview, page 16-17
The party leadership was defeated on the issue, but it is not obliged to act on party conference resolutions.
Outside the Liverpool conference, there was a protest calling for profits from energy companies to be frozen rather than people trying to heat their homes.
Scams alert: heating help
Police, local authorities and pensioner groups are warning about scammers who target pensioners with offers of extra cost-of-living support. The fake messages pretend to offer help with winter fuel payments, then ask for banking details.
Age UK has publicised the fraudulent text message, which implies that pensioners are being contacted on behalf of the government or local councils.
The message reads: “Winter is coming, and we will continue to issue winter heating subsidies to help you survive this cold winter smoothly. Since you are eligible to apply, please update your information in the link after reading the information.”
Blackpool
Andy Aitchison, Les Calder and Brian Sturtevant report back from this year’s NPC gathering
Delegates gathered in Blackpool in September for the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) Annual Convention (previously known as the Pensioners’ Parliament).
Rescheduling the convention to early autumn meant it coincided with the change of government and the announcement of the abolition of the universal winter fuel allowance (WFA) for all but the poorest pensioners.
This gave many of the debates a more passionate feel. It also meant delegates could see the famous Blackpool lights on reasonably pleasant evenings.
The CSPA team of Andy and Anne Aitchison, Les Calder and Brian and Sylvia Sturtevant stayed, with many other delegates, in the Imperial Hotel, where all the debates were held. Here, we highlight the major issues discussed.
The Convention was opened by the Mayor of Blackpool, Councillor Peter Hunter, and Barry Todman, NPC Vice President, chaired the opening session.
The theme was ‘The state of the older nation 2024 and the end of the WFA’.
NPC General Secretary Jan Shortt introduced the session and listed the actions taken so far by the NPC. MPs had been inundated with letters and visits from constituents, but the government seemed set on sticking to its decision. She was worried there would be further benefit cuts in the October Budget.
Eorann Lean from Age UK outlined the organisation’s WFA campaign, highlighting those most at risk, those living just above pension credit, those with high energy costs due to disabilities or illness, and the one million eligible pensioners who have not applied for pension credit.
Speaking via an online link, Dr Katie Bramall-
Stainer, the British Medical Association’s GPs committee chair, gave a video presentation, ‘GPs are on your side’, highlighting the problems we are all too familiar with. GPs are short-staffed and overworked; the solution is to solve the pay and staffing problems.
Labour peer Bryn Davies gave an insight into the upcoming Pensions Bill, which could divert money from pension funds into schemes for increasing growth. The WFA cuts could be part of that strategy.
Privatisation of the NHS
After lunch, we discussed whether a digital NHS and privatisation are good for our health. The session was introduced by Dr Jean Hardiman Smith, the CSPA’s health policy adviser, who said digital information can be inadequate, out of date and cause more medical problems.
She introduced Dr Bob Gill, an NHS campaigner and director of the film The Great NHS Heist, who argued that the NHS is already privatised. The government has been quietly selling it off bit by bit for the past 14 years and we have been conned into believing it is being run for our benefit rather than the new owners’. It is an NHS in name only; we just don’t have to pay directly for it.
Most disturbing is the trend of new corporate group practices employing physician associates – who only have a two-year unaccredited degree and are unregulated – to save money. Insist you see a properly qualified doctor next time you visit your GP. This will be an important campaigning issue for the NPC with the new government.
Dr Gill’s arguments were backed up Diarmaid McDonald, Executive Director of Just Treatment, who said the
NHS campaigner Dr Bob Gill argued that the NHS is already privatised
2024
involvement of profit-oriented groups results in more people dying, with outsourcing causing more infection due to failings in hygiene and cleanliness. There is much to do to retain the NHS we all want in line with the ideals of its founding fathers, he said.
The next session, which looked at digital challenges affecting older people, was chaired by Sandra Durkin, NPC Vice President. Nav Hussain, a manager at BT’s Digital Voice, explained how the switch from analogue to digital phone lines is being managed. But delegates did not seem convinced, with many expressing practical concerns. The NPC has pledged to monitor the process.
Owen Sloss, on behalf of the Campaign for Better Transport, showed how digital solutions are helping to improve transport services, but much more could be done.
Phoebe Sleet of the Digital Poverty Alliance, which campaigns for digital inclusion, said people who remain offline feel excluded and left behind, and lose confidence. Both traditional and digital means should be maintained within society, she said, so that these people, especially the elderly, can stay in contact with others and not feel isolated.
Future of the state pension
The second day started with the keynote session, ‘The future of the state pension’, chaired by CSPA President Brian Sturtevant. He started by describing the work of the Pensions and Incomes Working Party, which included looking at the inflation rate, the triple-lock and pension credit.
He also outlined the NPC’s involvement in WASPI and ageism campaigns, monitoring occupational pensions, autoenrolment, pension dashboards and the pension regulator.
Our recommendations to the National Committee have helped decide NPC policy. We had discussed alternatives to dropping the WFA, including adding it to the state pension so it became taxable, while at the same time raising the tax threshold.
This would be a far more acceptable alternative to depriving 10 million people of a vital lifeline.
Brian introduced Heléna Herklots, the retiring Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, who gave a comprehensive presentation on her work to represent and enhance pensioners’ conditions in Wales.
She made the telling point that if there had been an equivalent position in England and Scotland, the government would have had to consult beforehand about the abolition of WFA, it would have never
We still have no Older People’s Commissioners for England and Scotland
happened, and an alternative strategy, acceptable to all, would have been found.
Yet despite vigorous campaigning by the NPC, we still have no Older People’s Commissioners for England and Scotland. We therefore have work to do with the new government to convince them of the usefulness of the post.
Morgan Vine, a director at Independent Age, explained the organisation’s work and how it supplies free information, guidance and practical help to older
people, especially to those who are living below the poverty line – calculated to be about two million. The CSPA is affiliated to Independent Age, receiving and supplying information, and finds the arrangement mutually helpful.
Caren Evans from the Unite union, who is responsible for the 68 Is Too Late campaign, encouraged everyone to contact their MP regarding the vote on the WFA and the possible extension of the pension age to 68.
Unite’s research has found that many working people will struggle to continue to work until 68, leaving many customers of the service industries vulnerable to errors, she said. The possibility of the government seeing pensioners as easy targets was becoming more realistic.
Clare Wilkins, from the NPC’s Climate Change Working Party, led the next session and held a quick quiz among delegates based on the key issues and common misconceptions in the area of climate change.
The final session had Jan Shortt summarising the key issues from the past two days. We were left in no doubt as to the enormity of the problems facing us – but at least the sun was shining as we started our journeys home.
General secretary's Report
Sally Tsoukaris
Season’s Greetings from (the new) CSPA HQ, and welcome to the Winter edition of The Pensioner.
It’s been a particularly busy six months, kicked off by the announcement of the winter fuel payment eligibility changes at the end of July, which in turn sparked off a round of lobbies, rallies and petitions.
The push-back has not subsided since, despite government reassurances on increased applications for pension credit. The Autumn Budget in October had little comfort to offer CSPA members, although new commitments to improving the NHS are always good to hear.
Before the Christmas festivities begin, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Later Life Ambitions (LLA) with our partners in NARPO and the NFOP at a reception in the House of Lords on 17 December. The event is to be hosted by Lord Davies of Brixton and will offer good opportunities to remind government and opposition MPs about our joint campaigns for pensioners.
We now know that state pensions are set to rise by 4.1% in April 2025 under the triple-lock, with the increase in civil service pensions expected to be a rather less inspiring increase of 1.7%, based on the September CPI.
We must stand firm in defending everyone’s right to have a decent standard of living in later life, alongside our core aim of “protecting what you have earned” in public service.
HQ Christmas closure
CSPA HQ will be closed from midday on Thursday 19 December to Thursday 2 January. Thank you for bearing with us – our staff appreciate the chance to rest and spend time with their families. All that remains is for me is to wish you and yours a very merry festive season and a happy new year, however you choose to celebrate.
CSPA campaigning
Our work with the Care and Support Alliance (CSA) is ongoing, with the shared aim to improve our social care systems and support carers. The CSA drew attention to this before the Budget by releasing an open letter to the Chancellor, along with photographs of representatives, carers and care recipients outside Parliament (pictured – I’m at the back with a green placard).
The Deputy General Secretary and I attended the National Federation for the Blind UK’s White Cane Day parliamentary event in October (pictured), hosted by Steve Darling MP and his guide dog, the Right Honourable Jennie. The federation showed their film Buses Are Our Lifeline, which powerfully depicts the reasons for their campaigns against e-scooters and the dangers of ‘floating bus stops’, particularly to those with
visual and mobility issues.
We held another successful CSPAhosted webinar on the 2015 Remedy (McCloud) on 29 October, with 350 people registered to attend and a panel chaired by CSPA Vice Chair Roisin Lilley. Panellists included CSPA Pensions and Personal Cases Manager Chris Haswell; Stella Humphreys and Kevin Hughes from the Cabinet Office; and Finvola Harkin and Emma Cocks from the NI Department of Finance.
The presentations, mainly for those who retired between April 2015 and March 2022, were recorded and can be found on our website.
Head office change
Our landlords in Croydon notified us in April of their intention to sell off the building in which we had our offices, so we relocated the CSPA head office to premises in Battersea at the end of October.
I would like to express my utmost appreciation for all the team’s continued commitment, and for all their hard work this year on behalf of all CSPA members.
AGM 2024: our priorities
Our Annual General Meeting in Kenilworth on 9-10 October drew our attention to many issues of concern to members. More than 50 motions and several emergency motions were debated, and you can read more about these in the AGM supplement.
We are pleased to welcome Les Priestley, elected as the CSPA’s new Chair, whilst extending our thanks to Linda Ridgers-Waite who served us so ably as the outgoing Chair and former Vice Chair.
We are happy to see Linda staying on the EC in a national post, and to have Mike Buckley and Pam Flynn newly elected. And we remain grateful for the ongoing efforts of EC officers who were re-elected, and to others who have recently stood down.
The Wessex Region has a newly elected representative, John Clarke, and I am sure members there will hear from him soon.
This year’s AGM once again provided good opportunities to update members
on progress made on several fronts, as well as to explore new concerns and revisit longstanding issues. AGM motions carried addressed the impact of the recent changes to winter fuel payments, the frozen personal income tax threshold, and issues on the pension administrators, the WASPI campaign, and differences between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ state pensions.
We will keep pressure on the powers that be to address the need for a new, properly funded national social care framework, integrated with the NHS, as a priority.
Lord Darzi’s report into the state of the NHS highlighted the importance of more effective access to communitybased healthcare, especially for those
The
AGM again provided
good opportunities to update members
who don’t need to be in hospital. But we are disappointed his 10-year plan for healthcare hasn’t yet been mirrored by an equally clear roadmap for adult social care. There simply isn’t time for another lengthy Royal Commission!
An AGM motion asking the CSPA to campaign for more consistent provision of concessionary fares for pensioners across all public transport networks was carried, as well as others raising concerns about ‘floating bus stops’ and the legalisation of privately owned e-scooters on roads. These issues will now be added to our campaigning agenda.
CSPA democratic structures: have your say
At the AGM, I explained we would invite all members to share their views on proposals to tackle the growing ‘democratic deficit’ our organisation faces, and we would really like as many members as possible to take part.
The CSPA has a declining number of active local groups in England and Wales, although we do have active branches in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Closures prevent members from participating fully in the CSPA’s democratic processes. So we are considering changing our approach to some elections from the 2026 AGM, to ensure every member has an equal voice in electing the national Executive Council.
The brief survey in this issue offers you the chance to help shape a more inclusive future for the CSPA. Your feedback is invaluable. Here is some background and advice on the survey and the proposals, but do get in touch if you have questions.
What is being proposed?
An online and postal ballot, open to all members, to elect our Chair, Vice Chair and five national Executive Council posts.
When would this take place?
For the proposed ballot to be held, the necessary changes to the CSPA’s Rules and Constitution would need to be agreed by a two thirds majority at our Annual General Meeting in 2025. If the AGM’s agreement is forthcoming, the proposal is to call for nominations in the Spring 2026 issue of The Pensioner and hold the first All-Member Ballot in June/July 2026, so that the results can be announced at the start of the AGM in October 2026.
How would the elections be held?
Members will be able to vote online, using a link sent by email, or they can return paper forms, which will be included in The Pensioner, and return to a Freepost address. We plan to engage a reputable, third-party provider of electoral support to assist with the ballots.
Why are we proposing this?
The EC is aware current structures and representation arrangements no longer allow all our members to influence our future as an organisation. We would like to
extend the opportunity to all members to mandate a national EC of their choosing.
What else is going to change?
We are conscious any changes must be sensitive to the values and networks of active members in groups and branches, and not diminish our support for them. We are not planning to change our nomination processes or the way we elect regional, branch or group representatives, or how we conduct other AGM business.
How do I have my say?
Please turn to page 11 to complete and return our member survey. It should take no longer than 15 minutes. Or check your inbox for an email from us containing a link to the online survey. If you have not received an email from us and would like to, telephone 020 8688 8418 or email enquiries@cspa.co.uk.
When do I return my feedback?
Please complete the online survey or post your paper survey form to the Freepost address by Wednesday 15 January 2025.
Future of the CSPA’s democratic structures: have your say
The Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance (CSPA) is inviting you to share your views on a proposal aimed at tackling the growing “democratic deficit” within our organisation.
With the declining number of local groups across England and Wales preventing more and more members from participating fully in the CSPA’s democratic processes, we are considering conducting All-Member Ballots in future to ensure that every member, regardless of where they live in the United Kingdom, has an equal voice in electing the national CSPA Executive Council. This brief survey offers you the chance to help us shape a more inclusive future for the CSPA. Your feedback is invaluable in guiding our next steps. The survey consists of two parts: one
SECTION 1: ABOUT YOU
1. How old are you? 50-60 61-65 66-70
2. How long have you been retired?
Less than a year 1-5 years 6-10 years
3. How long have you been a member of the CSPA?
Less than a year 1-5 years 6-10 years
4. How long did you work in the civil service?
Less than a year 1-5 years 6-10 years
5. Which part of the civil service did you work in?
about you, another on proposed changes to CSPA democratic structures. It should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete.
About the All-Member Ballot system
Many membership organisations now offer each member a chance to vote in their decision-making processes. This means that every individual member’s vote is valued equally, regardless of their status, contributions or seniority within the organisation.
The CSPA currently employs a delegated voting system, where members vote for other members from their local groups or branches to represent their interests at a UK-wide level – at the Annual General Meeting, for example, or on the Executive Council.
8. Would you like to find out more about different ways of being more actively involved in the CSPA? (Please provide your name and email/postal address if you do.)
Yes No
Name and contact details:
SECTION 2: ADDRESSING THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT
1. Do you feel able to take part in the CSPA’s democratic processes under current structures?
Yes
No
If no, why not?
2. On a scale of one (unfamiliar) to five (very familiar), how familiar are you with the current process for electing the CSPA Executive Council?
6. If applicable, please state which CSPA local group or branch you are a member of.
7. Are you a CSPA office holder (either at local or national level)?
3. If you are not currently active in voting or otherwise participating in CSPA elections, what are the main reasons? (Please select all options that apply.)
I don’t feel well informed about the candidates or issues being voted on The voting process is too complicated or unclear
I trust my elected representatives to make decisions on my behalf
I am not interested in participating in CSPA elections I am unsure how to get involved with elections
Other (please specify)
4. What changes might encourage you to participate more actively in CSPA elections and internal decision-making processes? (Please select all options that apply.)
Easier access to information about candidates and issues
More convenient voting methods (for example, online voting)
More frequent updates and communication from the CSPA
Clearer explanations of how my vote influences decisions
Other (please specify)
5. How satisfied are you with the current level of engagement and communication between the CSPA Executive Council and the CSPA membership?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neutral
Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
6. Do you support allowing all CSPA members to vote for Executive Council posts in an All-Member Ballot?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Neutral/unsure
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Optional – please describe why you support or oppose moving to All-Member Ballots.
7. How important do you think it is to involve all CSPA members in the election of the Executive Council?
Very important
Somewhat important
Not important
8. Do you support the proposal to trial All-Member Ballots for Executive Council elections for two years, before considering permanent changes?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Neutral/unsure
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
9. If an All-Member Ballot is introduced for electing the Executive Council, which method of voting would you prefer?
Online voting
Postal voting
A combination of online and postal voting
Other (please specify)
10. If All-Member Ballots are introduced for electing the Executive Council, how likely would you be to vote in an election?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Neutral/unsure
Somewhat unlikely
Very unlikely
11. If All-Member Ballots were to be introduced, how likely would you be to stand in an election?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Neutral/unsure
Somewhat unlikely
Very unlikely
12. Please share any other thoughts or concerns you have regarding the proposal to implement All-Member Ballots for electing the CSPA Executive Council:
Please tear out this page, complete the survey and post it to us at the Freepost address shown here, no later than Wednesday 15 January 2025. Joint members may return two copies if they wish.
Alternatively, check your inbox for an email from us containing a link to the online survey. If you have not received an email and would like to, please get in touch with us by telephone (020 8688 8418) or email (enquiries@cspa.co.uk).
Postal address: Freepost RUHB-AGAL-SSUA, Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance, 160 Falcon Road, London, SW11 2LN
Remedy Update
Christine Haswell explains what the Remedy period means to you
Letters from MyCSP will soon land for everyone retired since 31 March 2015 who was in the main civil service pension scheme and is eligible for the Remedy (excluding the recently retired who had their choice on retiring). The Remedy covers 2015-2022, when everyone under a certain age in service moved to the new pension scheme, Alpha.
Some were not moved on grounds of age; this was deemed discriminatory. After many court cases, the Remedy for this discrimination means everyone with pensionable service, between those dates only, can choose to take Remedy period benefits in Alpha or in your old scheme (Classic, Premium or Nuvos). It doesn’t cover all your service, just the Remedy period. Check your eligibility at: https:// www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/ am-i-affected-remedy/
If you’re eligible, you will already have your pension and can opt not to change anything. If you are still in service, the choice will be when to take your pension. This choice is about service between April 2015 and 2022 depending on when you took your pension – for some less than a year, for others up to seven years.
What is Alpha?
Alpha is not final salary but still a defined benefit scheme: your benefits are fixed via a formula (2.3% of salary each year
plus inflation). Alpha is a career average scheme, which builds up differently to the old final salary schemes. In Alpha, benefits accrue each year and grow into a pension, then inflation is added to the pot. This means the pension grows and keeps up its value. At retirement, you draw a monthly amount as your pension. For a guide to Alpha, visit: https://shorturl.at/IU9AN
The downside to Alpha is that the age at which you can take it unreduced is the state pension age. For Classic and Premium, the age is 60, for Nuvos 65. Most people about to retire or already retired started in Classic. This is a final salary scheme and though you may be in a different scheme when you leave, the benefits are still calculated on your final salary, not when the schemes changed. The premium is the same.
A big difference between the schemes is that the old schemes had an automatic lump sum; Alpha does not. If you want a lump sum, you buy this with the pension. So if you move to Alpha, there may be an adjustment due to the lump sum taken.
If you’re already retired, quite a complicated offer should arrive before March 2025. You will be reminded of your current pension arrangement (generally option A). Then you’ll be offered the Remedy period 2015-2022, what it looks like in Alpha and what it looks like in your legacy scheme with and without a
maximum lump sum. Also remember that partner benefits are different, so you might want to think beyond the numbers. That choice has to be made and can’t be changed. Everyone has a unique situation. From mid-November a calculator, accessible through your pension portal, will help.
How
do you choose?
There are explanatory notes, so take your time – what’s important to you? You might want to discuss it with a financial adviser, so use your CSPA membership benefits for a free consultation. For most people, there will be very little difference. The CSPA can help by talking through the options when you get your paperwork.
Further information
• Civil Service Pensions: https://shorturl.at/RjRRO
• McCloud Remedy webinar –video now available in the CSPA Members area: https://shorturl.at/X7RIS
• Pension calculators – Civil Service Pension Scheme: https://shorturl.at/QSnUo
• We will also soon produce a podcast to help you with the form.
‘We need a good, modern, effective system’
Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, talks to Helen Nugent about the Labour government’s priorities
It’s come full circle for Sir Stephen Timms. MP for East Ham since 1994, Tony Blair’s former Pensions Minister is now the Minister for Social Security and Disability in the Labour government.
Timms says it’s good to be back at the Department for Work and Pensions, particularly as, after chairing the Work and Pensions Select Committee for the past four years, he’s had the opportunity to consider what the DWP ought to be doing. “Now I’ve got the chance as a minister to do something about it all,” he says.
In a long parliamentary career, Timms has held several roles. They include ministerial posts under the previous Labour administration including Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform. In opposition, he served on the shadow front bench, prior to succeeding Frank Field to chair the select committee in 2020.
Priorities in office
So, are there any issues he tackled in committee that he’d like to get to grips with in government? “Yes, quite a number,” he says. “As minister, the number one priority for me is making sure the interests and the voices of disabled people are at the heart of what we do, not just in this department but across government, because my responsibility is a crossgovernment one on disability.
“But I also want to make sure that
we have a modern and effective social security system in place. Something that became very apparent in the four years on the select committee is just how much damage was done to the social security safety net over the past 14 years.
“We need a good, modern, effective system, and that’s a very important area for my current portfolio as well. I’ll be drawing on lots of ideas and thinking from the work of the select committee in taking forward both those priorities.”
Before summer’s general election, a key
“The state pension will keep ahead of inflation and can get better over time”
part of the Labour manifesto was a pledge to support pensioners. In addition to retaining the pension triple-lock (whereby the state pension rises each April by 2.5%, inflation or earnings growth – depending on which is the highest), Labour promised to give people ‘the dignity and security they deserve in retirement’. It’s a tall order.
“It’s a big and important and central commitment,” says Timms. “Of course, my colleague Emma Reynolds, the Pensions Minister, is leading on that, and she’s leading on a pensions review currently looking at all of this. But the central commitment is the state pension triple-
lock, which we will deliver every single year through this parliament.
“That means the level of the state pension will keep ahead of inflation and can get better and better over time. For us, that’s the key foundation for delivering that commitment.
“Emma’s review will look at what more we can do to deliver pension fund investment into the economy to increase the returns on pension funds, and so boost pensioner incomes in that way for those who benefit from a private pension or employment pension of some kind. But the commitment on the state pension is the key. That and pension credit.”
Pension credit take-up
Pension credit was introduced by the then Chancellor Gordon Brown in 2003. While it has been tweaked and amended since, it remains in force. In essence, it aims to provide low-income pensioners with extra money. Timms is keen to boost take-up.
“We do want to see more people taking up pension credit. We know that at the moment, for all those who do take it up, there are at least half as many who don’t [take it up] who are eligible for it.”
Timms says the government will be doing a lot of work to increase take-up of pension credit. He is hopeful this work will make a real difference to people’s lives.
Meanwhile, problems surrounding the Carer’s Allowance have dominated the headlines this year. According to
revelations in national newspapers, tens of thousands of carers have been forced to repay massive sums of money after mistakenly breaching Carer’s Allowance rules, often by just a few pounds. Threats of prosecution have damaged lives.
Under the rules governing the Carer’s Allowance, people in employment who are looking after a frail, ill or disabled relative can claim a weekly fee. But if their personal earnings exceed a stated limit, their entire weekly allowance is determined to be an overpayment which, according to the DWP, must be repaid. An overpayment of as little as a penny can trigger a repayment demand.
In opposition, Timms was a vocal critic of the Carer’s Allowance scandal. He had led parliamentary calls to fix the flaws in the system and called on Tory ministers to “move without delay” to ensure carers “are no longer subjected to the distress that such overpayments can cause”.
So now that he has ministerial responsibility for the issue, what does he intend to do? “There is a question about whether the current structure we’ve got for eligibility for Carer’s Allowance is right, and that’s something we’re going to be reflecting on. But more immediately, we need to fix this problem that there are a fair number of people receiving Carer’s Allowance who creep a little bit over the earnings threshold, and therefore become ineligible for Carer’s Allowance but don’t realise it. Maybe there was a pay rise and they hadn’t quite realised the increase took them over the threshold – that’s the problem we need to fix.
“We need to understand clearly what went wrong that meant some of these people have ended up with a very, very large Carer’s Allowance overpayment. They’ve received it for months or years when they weren’t entitled to it, and therefore are required to pay it back.
“For me, the rather baffling thing is that all the time they were ineligible, the DWP was receiving alerts from HMRC to inform us that earnings were above the threshold.
“Clearly that can’t be right. We can’t just sit back and let people get into these very large overpayments which have given rise to the high-profile cases you’ve referred to. So that’s what we’re looking at.”
He continues: “We are trialling a system to alert people through text messages to the fact that they appear to us to be over the threshold. Actually there are some allowable expenses, so it’s not completely clear whether they’re over the threshold
“We can’t just let people get into these very large [benefits] overpayments”
or not, but [we’re] alerting to the fact that they might be so that people will be able to check. We think that’ll help with the problem, but there will be more to do.”
Winter fuel payment
Also in the news has been the cut to winter fuel payments, which will mean only those receiving pension credit will be entitled to the payment this winter. This is expected to affect more than 10 million pensioners in England and Wales.
Asked about the issue, Timms points to comments from, among others, the Prime Minister that the previous government had made lots of commitments that were not budgeted for. “Hence the £22 billion black hole in the public finances this year”.
“We’ve had to do some very difficult things to deal with that gap. The meanstesting of winter fuel allowances has been part of that and will make a significant contribution to dealing with the problem. But given that the state pension will continue to rise in line with the triple-lock…we’re confident [it] will rise by at least £1,000 a year. So the setback from the loss of the winter fuel allowance for some will be, we think, more than made up for.
“We also want to highlight the importance of applying for pension credit, because those who receive pension credit will continue to get the winter fuel allowance as well as access to other support.”
Winter is coming…
So December has arrived, along with colder weather, higher heating bills and Maria Carey Christmas music playing everywhere. Wonder what happened to 2024? Are the years actually getting shorter, or is it just that our memories get shorter as we get older?
The one thing not arriving this month is the winter fuel payment to more than 10 million pensioners. This includes all CSPA members, and any other pensioner whose total income exceeds £11,344 a year (£218.15 a week).
If DWP/HMRC know who is eligible for pension credit, why not auto-enrol them?
This follows the Chancellor`s announcement at the end of July that the winter fuel payment – £200-£300 normally paid in the first few weeks of December to everyone at state pension age (66) – will now only be paid to the 1.8 million pensioners in receipt of pension credit.
An additional 780,000 pensioners are eligible for pension credit but don’t claim it. There are also millions of pensioners above the £218 a week income limit who will be struggling to pay their energy bills this winter, especially as Ofgem announced a 10% increase in the energy price cap to £1,717 (£144 per month) just weeks after Rachel Reeves’ announcement.
The Chancellor justified her decision by arguing that it would save £1.8 billion in year. The Institute of Fiscal Studies then pointed out that if everyone entitled to pension credit is spurred into action by the loss of the winter fuel payment, the government will have quickly lost more than it hoped to save!
Sketch writer Tom Peck remarked in The Times: “It’s tough running the country. One minute you`re not afraid to ‘make the tough choices’ and the next they turn out to have been a complete waste of time,
making the government more unpopular than they were before, and still skint.”
The Department for Work and Pensions said it would write to all 780,000 eligible for pension credit, inviting them to apply.
So, if DWP and HMRC know who is eligible for pension credit, why not autoenrol them to receive it automatically, unless they choose to opt out, and save them the lengthy application form? Better
MPs from all parties, including the Labour benches, spoke at the meeting inside the House of Commons, adding their support to the campaign.
In early November, Unite union launched a legal challenge to the government’s decision, seeking a judicial review to have it overturned and pay the winter fuel payment to all on the grounds that there had been no impact assessment of the decision and no prior consultation before it was announced a number of weeks after the July election
The CSPA joined the winter fuel allowance protest and lobby of Parliament in October, organised by the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) and Unite union. CSPA General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris spoke at the rally outside the House of Commons and described the Chancellor’s decision as misjudged, leaving many pensioners struggling with their heating bills this winter. A number of
Christmas wish: uprate the bonus
The CSPA, with our partner organisations in Later Life Ambition (LLA), wrote to the Chancellor prior to her Autumn Budget, urging her to bring in mitigating measures to help pensioners struggling with their bills this winter.
We proposed that the £10 annual pensioner bonus, payable in December, should be uprated to £115 in line with inflation since it was first introduced by Ted Heath in 1972, as this would provide some immediate practical help for pensioners this winter. Sadly, that was a Christmas wish that won’t come true in December.
So as Christmas approaches, and we enter the season of goodwill, cheer and merriment – hopefully that’s all before the gas bill arrives – what can we look forward to in 2025?
Well, we can look forward to Oasis performing together in July next year after a 25-year break. Looks like they’re returning to work after early rock‘n’roll retirement, having decided in later life they need to earn some more money.
The Gallagher brothers certainly got that extra cash, with Oasis ticket prices doubling as people queued online to buy them in the summer.
They call this ‘surge pricing’. I wonder why, in that case, we can’t have ‘surge pensions’ that increase in response to
How much do we need?
So how much income do you need to enjoy retirement? The Resolution Foundation and Living Wage Foundation published a report in September on the income needed to get by in retirement, bearing in mind the cost-of-living crisis. Their ‘living pension rate’ takes account of different personal circumstances, such as whether you own your own home or are renting, and calculates the income you will need based on a minimum income standard.
According to the report, a single, homeowning pensioner would need an annual income of £13,500 (£258 a week), while a pensioner couple owning their own home would need an annual income of £20,600 (£395 a week).
Pensioners who don’t own
The average annual income for the living pension is £19,300
their own home would need a substantially higher income. A single pensioner living in the private sector would need an extra £6,900 a year than a homeowner for an acceptable standard of living, the report says.
Taking into account all the different housing circumstances, the report concludes that the average annual income required as the living pension target is £19,300 (£371 per week).
The average civil service pension is £10,200 a year, which, added to the basic (pre-2016) state pension, gives a total of £19,014 (before tax). But for women, the average civil service pension is much lower, at £7,600, giving a total income of £16,414.
Contrary to media myth, civil servants do not have ‘gold-plated’ pensions. That is why the winter fuel payment and other benefits are important to so many people in retirement. It’s the difference between thriving and surviving.
AGM report
The CSPA Annual General Meeting in October debated all the pension and tax issues discussed on these pages, with group and branch representatives from across our membership. It also set our programme of campaigning and policy priorities for the coming year. You can read a summary of the debates and presentations in the supplement with this issue of The Pensioner.
energy shocks and sudden increases in the weekly shopping bill?
We can at least look forward to the 4.1% increase in state pensions from 7 April, although disappointingly only a 1.7% increase in civil service pensions.
In response to the furore over the winter fuel payment, the Chancellor pointed to a £470 annual increase in the new state pension of £11,502 from April 2025, due to the government`s commitment to retain the pension triple-lock, (reflecting the annual growth in average earnings).
She argued this
would offset the loss of the winter fuel payment – conveniently overlooking the fact that around three-quarters of current pensioners, including most CSPA members, are on the lower basic rate of state pension of £8,814 (pre-2016), which rises by £361 a year from April, or an extra £6.90 a week. Receiving an extra £6.90 a week (before tax) in April next year will not help with the increased energy bills this winter. “Don’t look back in anger”, do I hear you say?
The civil service pension increase of 1.7% from 7 April, based on the annual rise in the
September Consumer Prices Index (CPI), will be a disappointment to many CSPA members, especially after the rises of the past two years in response to the sharp increase in inflation from 2022. And with tax thresholds continuing to be frozen until 2028, more and more of your annual pension increase will be taken in tax, as the threshold will remain at £12,570 for another three years.
Christmas greetings
As we come into the Christmas period, do remember the CSPA is here for you all year round, seeking to protect your pension and promote your wellbeing in retirement. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a peaceful and happy 2025.
This year, a woman in Amsterdam won a nine-year battle to overturn a fine she’d received for urinating in an alleyway late at night because bars and restaurants had closed. Though there was a men’s urinal in the area, the nearest public toilet for women was 2km away.
Gert Steining, then 21, received a £180 fine for being caught short.
Angry at this “unfairness” and “injustice”, Steining challenged the fine, pointing out in a letter that the city had 35 public urinals for men but only three public toilets for women, and that more accessible public toilets were needed for everyone, including wheelchair users.
Her letter went unanswered - but two years later, she was summoned to court to pay the fine. The case attracted wide media coverage and prompted a campaign for more public toilets for women, which gathered momentum after the judge told Steining she should have made use of a men’s urinal.
His comments led to derision and petitions against “sanitary sexism”. But then changes were made, introducing mobile toilets in parks and wheelchairaccessible toilets in Amsterdam from October as part of a €2 million investment in public toilets. A victory at long last!
Local
campaigns
This summer in London, a member of the Loos for Southwark campaign group told a council meeting that all she wanted for her 96th birthday was “more public toilets”. As she pointed out: “The dogs can wee but women can’t.”
The group told the council the lack of public toilets can trap people at home and stop many from leading the life they want to. It can exacerbate social isolation and impact the local economy as well, as people spend less time out shopping.
As a result, the council has promised to develop, with the campaigners, a toilet plan for the borough. Such groups can be found in towns and cities throughout the UK and nationally, including the not-forprofit British Toilet Association (BTA), which has created a toilet map.
BTA works with the Changing Places Charter Group and others including Muscular Dystrophy, Scottish inclusivity
Between 2010 and 2019,
700 council-run public toilets were closed
Desperate for the loo?
Jenny Sims focuses in on the shortage of public toilets and what campaigners are doing about it
charity PAMIS and the Centre for Accessible Environments “to promote and increase the overall provision of Changing Places Toilets throughout the UK”.
Changing Places toilets in England are larger accessible toilets with equipment for people who cannot use standard accessible toilets; there are 1,800 of these facilities registered in the UK.
The best known campaign group, however, is likely to be Age UK. In 2022,
Age UK London published a report, London Loos, recommending what London boroughs can do to remedy the situation.
Earlier studies detail the decline and disappearance of public toilets, including Taking the P*** from the Royal Society for Public Health in 2019, which found that since 2010, 700 council-run public toilets had closed. Many more have closed since.
The RSPH described the lack of public toilets as a “urinary leash” affecting one in
Great British Toilet Map
The Great British Public Toilet Map, run by Public Convenience (toiletmap.org.uk), aims to map all publicly accessible toilets. These include:
• Public toilets such as these in Windermere (pictured)
• Toilets in train, bus and petrol stations, Tube stations, ferry terminals, airports and other transport networks
• Shopping centre toilets
• Toilets in public buildings such as town halls, libraries, hospitals, museums and leisure centres
• Toilets in other businesses where the business agrees the public can use their toilets without having to buy anything. These are often part of Community Toilet Schemes run by councils and can include shops, cafes, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and pubs.
The researchers say: “We try not to show toilets where you need to ask permission to use it or are for customers
five people, and that the lack of facilities stopped people from leaving their homes.
The London Loos survey, which polled 600 toilet users, validated these findings. The report claims: “Nine in 10 Londoners have considered toilet provision before making a journey to a particular place.”
Why? Because at the time of the survey there were only 1,500 public toilets in London to meet the needs of more than eight million people – fewer than one per 5,000 Londoners.
Out and About
The London Loos report was part of Age UK’s Out and About campaign to tackle social isolation by improving community infrastructure such as public toilet provision – “so older Londoners feel able to get out, maintain friendships and other social connections and do the things they want to do”. It aims to halt the long-term decline in the number of public toilets, setting out several recommendations for London boroughs:
• Develop a strategy for public toilet provision across the borough as part of the council’s public health responsibilities.
• Identify an officer responsible for developing and monitoring toilet provision – with information about the location of public toilets, including maps, and monitoring the accessibility of toilets for disabled people.
• Introduce community toilet schemes
only. The exception is platform toilets at stations. These are only accessible to ticket-holders but we feel it is still useful information, especially as many trains have no toilets on board. If you have any problems updating the toilets, or wish to send us toilet details or comments, contact gbtoiletmap@gmail.com.”
The Campaign for Public Infrastructure is calling for investment in civic facilities
in designated town centres and other places of need based on consultation with older residents and learning from successful models nationwide.
• Where community toilet schemes already exist, work with businesses and the wider community to strengthen provision – reviewing schemes and incentivising more businesses to join.
• Promote public information resources such as the Great British Toilet Map (see box) and Changing Places Toilet Map.
• Deliver a public campaign to raise awareness of toilet locations.
• Review local signage and maps.
An Age UK London spokesman said: “We believe awareness about the lack of public toilets has increased over the past few years. Everyone benefits from improved provision, some more than others. It’s a complicated issue and much needs to be done, but we are pleased to have made a significant contribution to raising awareness about the issue.
The Campaign for Public Infrastructure (CFPI), which advocates for investment in civic facilities, has published a briefing paper offering other solutions.
“A lack of political will, shrinking local authority budgets and limited incentives have resulted in environments that
prevent people from leaving their homes, restricting access to work, leisure and social interactions,” it says. “The UK has a profound opportunity to invest in public space to ensure accessibility and inclusion and promote activity.”
It urges the UK government to “embed public toilet investment within infrastructure funding bids by defining processes for valuation within the Treasury Green Book”. In 2020, the Green Book was revised, requiring proposals to consider place-based impacts.
Other opportunities
The CFPI has some other suggestions:
• Provide consistent maintenance resourcing and accountability for public toilets through the Public Health Outcomes Framework and ringfenced grant.
• Create a model of public toilet accessibility financing by building on the success of the Changing Places Fund. Its report ends on a note of optimism, however. “By empowering local authorities to resource public toilets and establishing robust accountability, the CFPI asserts that widespread concerns of vulnerable communities regarding the accessibility and appeal of public spaces can be addressed.”
Gert Steining’s voice was finally heard in Amsterdam. We can only hope that the voices of UK campaigners will eventually be listened to as well.
Branch and group news
In Your Area
ENGLISH REGIONS: NORTH WEST REGION
Greater Manchester
The group meets at the Methodist Central Buildings on Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JQ. All 2025 meetings will be on Wednesdays, 11am to 1pm:
• 14 January
• 19 March (AGM)
• 18 June (conference motions)
• 17 September (mandating meeting)
• 15 October (conference report)
• 17 December (Christmas lunch, noon)
We also hold a quarterly social event in Stockport, at the old Rectory on the first Thursday at each quarter. Next year’s, all commencing at 12 noon, are:
• 6 March
• 5 June
• 4 September
• 4 December
Back to 2024, it’s that time of the year when the begging bowl comes out. Members are aware we receive no funds from HQ, so we must raise funds for local expenses, donations and subscriptions to organisations such as the NPC Northwest Pensioners Association and Act for Inclusion (social care pressure group).
We raise funds locally by two methods – direct donations and our 200 Club, in which a quarter of what we raise goes to group funds and the rest is prize money. The new annual cycle for the 200 Club starts in March at £12 for the full cycle, with a monthly
SOUTHERN REGION
Worthing & District
Alarming that winter is here already, when summer seemed so short. Nonetheless, we have enjoyed an action-packed year with excellent presentations and an enjoyable day in July at Tangmere Aviation Museum on what felt the hottest day of the year.
Our busy autumn programme included a concert from the wonderful ladies choir Sing Out Sister, and a talk from the local Coastwatch team. On 13 December we are having Christmas lunch at a new venue, Highdown Hotel at Goring-by-Sea.
prize. Donations can be sent to me at 46 Severn Way, Holmes Chapel, Crewe CW4 8FT.
More details: Harry Brett Tel: 07999 874864 Email: h_brett@sky.com
Liverpool & District
The group held its AGM on Monday 4 March and the following members were elected for a 12-month period:
• Gillian Hill – Chair
• Sue Munroe – Secretary
• Harry Brett – Treasurer. The meeting schedule for 2025 includes the following Mondays:
• 3 March 3 (AGM)
• 2 June (to determine conference motions and decide delegates for the AGM)
• 15 September (to mandate delegates for conference)
• 8 December (Christmas lunch and short meeting).
The group meets at 11am at the Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EW. We are asking members for donations to group funds –please send to Harry Brett, 46 Severn Way, Holmes Chapel Crewe CW4 8FT or direct to our Lloyds bank account, sort code: 30-99-50, account number: 16487962, name: CSPA Liverpool. For further details contact Harry Brett Tel: 07999 874864 Email: h_brett@sky.com
We kick off the new year with forensic archaeologist Sarah Green, her sixth visit, talking about explorer Thomas Spratt. In February, Lisa Craik from Pollinator Pioneers will tell us all about bees and what we can do to help support their declining population. On 28 March we welcome back Bob Turner for a talk on Vikings, and on 25 April my old friend and colleague Mike Gough-Cooper will talk on the secret history of drugs smuggling.
On 30 May Peter Winter tells us about the Silk Route and on 27 June our own Trevor Andrews is holding a masterclass in portrait painting. Believe it or not, Trevor is still spoiling us with beautiful water colours and humorous cartoons, circulated weekly to the group electronically, a custom he started during lockdown in 2020.
If anyone would like to give us a presentation, or knows someone who might, please contact the chairman.
We meet at 10.15am on the last Friday of most months in the Durrington Community Centre and warmly welcome new members or one-off visitors, who would just pay a £3 attendance fee.
Any general queries can be addressed to the chairman (details below) or more specifically on membership to membership secretary Marion Tarbuck by emailing marion.tarbuck@gmail.com or calling 07904 14184.
Chairman: Frank Jones, 19 Saltings Way, Upper Beeding, West Sussex BN44 3JH Tel: 07500 478097
Email: francisjgjones@hotmail.com
Liverpool Central Library
East Solent
East Solent Group continues to hold well attended meetings on the second Wednesday of each month between 10am and 12 noon at St Faith’s Parish Church, Bulson Hall, Victoria Square, Lee-on-theSolent PO13 9NF. There is level access and free parking, and the X5 bus route nearby. We have a talk each month, and after our monthly meetings, some of us adjourn to a local pub or restaurant for lunch. Talks this year have included:
• Water, slaughter and trade, a history of Southampton
• The life and varied roles of Sir Laurence Olivier
• Signing 4 Fun
• Shining Light Singing Group
• A Midsummer Special
In March we held our AGM and welcomed National Treasurer Mike Sparham as our guest speaker. In September, 12 of our members spent a week in Devon visiting Ilfracombe, Barnstaple, Minehead, Lynton and Lynmouth, Appledore and Westward Ho! (pictured). Then in October we had a talk on bees, and one in November on ‘Christmas and other problems’.
On 4 December we will visit Salisbury’s
Forensic archaeologist
Sarah Green returns for a sixth visit to Worthing
Christmas Market, and on 18 December we will hold our annual Christmas lunch. . Finally, 2024 is the 50th anniversary of East Solent Group. The old newspaper clipping (below right) shows the inaugural meeting on 25 January 1974. We would welcome members, new and old, to join us at our monthly meetings.
Join us for jolly Christmas celebrations on Wednesday 11 December at 10.30am, for our group meeting, including a Christmas quiz and lots of wonderful prizes. Then we’ll go to the Parsons Pig pub for traditional yuletide fare or Indian cuisine – please let me know if you want to come so a seat can be reserved for you. After Christmas, we resume group meetings on Wednesday
12 February, when David Bickerton will tell us all about the last days of the Bismark. On Wednesday 12 March, CSPA General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris will talk about current issues affecting us all and how the CSPA protects our interests. Sally is a very interesting speaker and can bring us all the latest information. After both meetings, we will adjourn to a local pub for lunch.
We meet at The Orchard, Gleneagles Court, Brighton Road, Crawley RH10 6AD, about 200m south of the level crossing. For further meetings, check out our website at www.cspa-crawley-group.org.uk.
Members’ meetings continue be held at The Griffin Public House, 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 are usually held on the first Thursday of February, May, September and November. The start time will remain at 1.30pm.
At the November meeting, our members were delighted with the annual visit from Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. This is a favourite with members, who hear updates on the valuable work of the charity and have an opportunity to buy Christmas cards and gifts not available on the high street.
If you have any membership matters you wish to update, such as a change of address, please contact Michael Kirby.
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 new members, so if you know anyone who would like to
The
Scotland Branch Christmas lunch will be held on 12 December
Mike Sparham, East Solent AGM
Trip to Devon
George Square in Glasgow
join, please contact Michael Kirby to see if they are eligible. Members are also reminded to check out the branch website – www.cspascotland.org.uk.
The Scotland Branch Christmas lunch will be held on 12 December –arrival time 11.30am for 12 noon start. This event is being held in the Maldron Hotel, 50 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G2 3BW, a 10-minute walk from Central and Queen Street stations. To book your place, if you have not already done so, contact Michael Kirby.
Email: Michael.Kirby@cspa.co.uk Tel: 07969 405263
All previously known groups in Scotland have closed. Should any member wish to enquire about creating a new group, please contact branch administrator
Apologies to any Scotland Branch members who have not received copies of The Pensioner magazine or branch newsletters.
If any members reading this notice know of anyone still not receiving these publications, please ask them to contact head office on 020 8688 8418 to report it, giving your name, address and, if known, your membership number, as the branch officers are not responsible for the distribution listings taken from the national database.
NORTHERN IRELAND BRANCH
CSPA NI AGM 2025
The AGM returns to Belfast city centre in 2025 – at 2pm on 7 May in the beautiful surroundings of the Presbyterian Assembly Building, Howard Street. A buffet lunch will be provided from 12.45pm.
Pensioner’s Parliament
A full report of the Pensioner’s Parliament on 12 October is included in the Northern Ireland Assembly Report on page 35. However, in advance of the event, the Northern Ireland Assembly events team wrote to pensioner/older person’s groups seeking agenda items to be considered for the Pensioner’s Parliament Agenda. After detailed consideration, the CSPA NI committee submitted seven items:
• Winter fuel payment
• Age discrimination legislation
• Digital exclusion of older people
• Warm homes discount scheme
• Provision of public lavatories
• Homecare packages
• Funding of social care.
Warm home discount scheme
Despite meeting senior government representatives on 23 April and strongly putting the case as to why Northern Ireland citizens have been denied this payment, which is applied to the three countries of Great Britain, we are extremely disappointed no further progress has been made. Continual pressures have been made.
CSPA NI website
Exciting plans are under way to create a bright, attractive website for the CSPA NI. Discussions are at an advanced stage with the developers and it is hoped we will have an official launch soon.
Car insurance scheme
Discussions continue with one of Northern Ireland’s leading insurance firms about developing an offer for CSPA NI members. This is particularly important as a range of firms have withdrawn from car insurance quotes for Northern Ireland residents.
Specsavers deal
A £20 Specsavers voucher can be used against any of its £99+ range of glasses by you, your family and friends – though the request for a voucher must be from a paid-up CSPA member. Since the last edition of The Pensioner 30 more vouchers have been sought. To get yours, simply send the name of the person requesting a voucher to tony.mcmullan@outlook.com.
National Pensioners Convention NI
CSPA NI representatives continue to attend NPC NI meetings, where a wide variety of pensioner groups meet to discuss matters of concern to older people.
National AGM
The 2024 national AGM of the CSPA was very successful for the Northern Ireland Branch. Branch delegate Harry Baird spoke in the debate on the government’s refusal to raise pensioners’ annual taxfree allowance. He also proposed two branch motions: one on decision-making in residential settings, another on funding for research into dementia. Harry’s contributions helped all three motions to be carried unanimously.
Roisin Lilley, our Treasurer/Membership Secretary, retained her national Vice Chair post, with an increased mandate. And our EC representative Tony McMullan proposed challenging the government over the winter fuel payment.
ALabour Chancellor has not delivered a Budget since 2010.
This autumn, all eyes were on the nation’s first female Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to see what she would do with the levers of power in the Treasury.
Reeves faced a difficult task and a tricky tightrope when she got to her feet in the Commons at the end of October.
Choosing to hold the Budget on the day before Halloween was always going to be a gift for headline-writers – but would she have more treats than tricks?
Almost from her first day in the job, Reeves had been setting the scene for her Budget, mainly by warning us all about the ‘£22 billion black hole’. And it only took her a few weeks to take her first step in filling that hole – by axing
Tricks or treats?
Matthew Boyd dissects the first Labour Budget in 14 years
winter fuel payments for most pensioners. Pensioners on fixed incomes are always vulnerable to Treasury measures that fluctuate with inflation. And given that Reeves managed to take from pensioners in her first 100 days, sparked concerns of further tax raids and cuts to support.
Later Life Ambitions has worked hard to ensure those concerns were heard in the Treasury through correspondence with ministers and officials and via the media.
Ensuring older people’s priorities stay at the forefront of ministerial minds is key, as is appointing a Commissioner for Older People (as in Wales and Northern Ireland). LLA will continue to make the case for that in meetings with MPs into next year.
Budget pros and cons
The Budget was a mixed picture for older people. The top line was that the triplelock was retained – other benefits rise by 1.7% next year, and the state pension and pension credit by 4.1%.
This is not to be taken for granted. There’s plenty of speculation that the Treasury doesn’t like the triple-lock and it was only ever meant to be temporary. At least one MP hinted that it ought to be scrapped in the Budget debate.
Later Life Ambitions put the triple-lock front and centre of our election manifesto;
all parties agreed to maintain it and we will continue to make the case for it.
Unfortunately, there was plenty in the Budget for older people to dislike. Bus fares remain capped – but at £3 rather than £2 from next year. Tax bands are to be unfrozen, but not until 2028. That means more pensioners paying tax on their pension in the next few years.
And there was no u-turn on the winter fuel payment policy. It will be means-tested and denied to millions of pensioners. Many pensioners that are eligible are missing out because they have not applied for pension credit.
It would have been good to see the Chancellor use her platform to drive uptake among those eligible to claim it – better still if she’d extended the winter fuel payment to those who receive housing benefit, for example.
But for all the policies that impact older people, it was employers who were clobbered hardest. The Chancellor whacked up National Insurance Contributions for employers and lowered the threshold at which they kick in.
Reeves justified a package of taxes that totalled £40 billion not just to fix the nation’s finances but to start spending on government priorities – primarily schools and the NHS. Improvements to the
latter benefit almost everyone, so will be welcome if and when they take shape.
Similarly, if Reeves achieves her goal of increased economic growth, then the whole of society, from youngest to oldest, ought to benefit in some form.
The dust may have settled on the Budget, but it is only the start of Reeves’ term at the Treasury. The government is now conducting a spending review and Later Life Ambitions will be looking for opportunities to feed into that to ensure older people’s priorities are protected and promoted.
LLA anniversary
We are holding a parliamentary event before Christmas to mark 10 years since the formation of Later Life Ambitions. That will be an opportunity to look back on our successes, but more importantly to meet some of the hundreds of new MPs elected this summer and to make our case to ensure that older people’s interests remain on their minds when making and voting on policy.
• Matthew Boyd is a senior account executive at the CSPA’s public affairs consultancy, Connect.
Home help
Chris Haswell on finding the right place to live
When people think of the older generation and housing, they may envisage a group of oldies in a retirement village solving murders. But life isn’t like a Richard Osman novel. The health and lifestyles of older people differ greatly, as do their housing needs, which can range from accessible and adaptable general needs housing to specialist housing with high levels of care.
The CSPA will be issuing a new guide to help you make decisions about your home, whether you are staying in your home and adapting it or changing to something smaller or with care services.
Staying put
There are several things to think about here – not least, location. A lot of people want to stay in their own home. Perhaps you’re involved in the community and have a support network or family nearby.
If you feel safe and have facilities such as local transport links near you, but just need support in the home, you can look at making provision to stay where you are.
Many older people want to stay in their own home and can apply to their local authority for help. This could be for aids or adaptations, or to help pay for practical support such as a gardener or cleaner.
As time goes on, personal care may be necessary. This is generally handled by third parties, which vary from borough to borough. Contact your local council for information. Social services will carry out an assessment. However, the system can be difficult to navigate, so ask in plenty of time if you want help.
Local authorities have to support their existing population of older people and plan ahead to ensure there are ongoing facilities.
Most areas have a community alarm scheme, which can be reassuring, and it might be worth checking if you are eligible for benefits or a reduction in Council Tax.
You could also consider Homeshare, an arrangement where you provide accommodation for a younger person in return for support – for more details, visit https://homeshareuk.org.
Living with your family is another possibility, though people find this works best when finances have been discussed and agreed beforehand. Otherwise you may find people have different expectations around paying for utilities and food, which can cause tension.
To help you make up your mind, you may find it helpful to use the HOOP (Housing Options for Older People) tool
at https://hoop.eac.org.uk/hooptool/. This questionnaire, designed by a charity, focuses on your housing issues and suggests links to local support based on your postcode, for both owner-occupiers or renters.
Buying a new home
If you have made the decision to move, be clear about where and what type of property you are looking for. You might be moving somewhere nearer to your family or to another property locally that’s smaller and easier to look after. Retirement properties can be cheaper to buy.
Wherever you are going, whether in a ‘community’ or an apartment, make sure you find out about any associated service charges as these can vary.
Social housing
This involves renting property through the council or a housing association. You may need sheltered accommodation with warden support and prefer to rent.
Check the costs of any extras in a property offering support. You may be an existing tenant and want to transfer or swap. This kind of housing is generally cheaper than privately renting, depending on where you live.
Tenancies can be different lengths, so be clear on the details before you sign up. And, where relevant, find out what would happen to the tenancy and anyone you live with (such as adult children) if you had to go into care, for example.
Private rental
If you are renting privately because you aren’t eligible for social housing or you only need it for a short time, it is generally helpful to do this formally.
A written tenancy agreement sets out all the key details – including rent, repairs, and terms and conditions. Your local Citizens Advice is a good place to have it checked over.
• Age UK Advice: 0800 169 65 65, lines are open seven days a week, 8am to 7pm, www.ageuk.org.uk
• In Wales, contact Age Cymru Advice: 0300 303 44
The big question...
Christine
Williams on a book which
sets out to answer something that many people ask
Dr Ellen Welch is a practising GP, mum and past co-chair of the Doctors’ Association UK. She is also the author of books about the NHS and a journalist for several newspapers.
In her latest book, Why can’t I see my GP?, she has collected stories from GPs practising in several countries, including many at home here in the UK.
The book recalls the beginnings of the NHS and continues through the major changes that have altered the way GPs and their medical practices have operated through the years.
Most of us will be unaware of the nature of these changes, although the impact of some of them is evident to patients. The increasing pressures they have imposed on doctors, practice nurses and their staff are significant.
The book explains how GP practices operate, their different organisational models and how they are funded. It also explains how GPs are trained, which comes after they have achieved their medical degrees and completed hospital experience – at significant cost and years of training.
It debunks the myths that are often promulgated in the media, incorrectly and often in an inflammatory manner, about ‘part-time’ GPs. It explains how so much of their statutory workload isn’t about seeing patients at all; it’s about the tasks dictated by government and regulatory bodies, such as managing imposed targets, a top-down inspection regime, repeated re-registrations (often at high cost to the GP), the extra workload caused by our
overloaded hospital and care systems and more. Patients are finding it increasingly difficult to access GP services, in spite of an increase of 3,528 registered GPs in the UK between 2019 and 2022 (most recent figures available).
The book further describes how the UK’s NHS system has reached a crisis point, leaving doctors and staff struggling to cope, often to the detriment of their own mental wellbeing, increasing the risks to the safe and effective treatment of their patients.
Family breakdowns are common and the brain-drain of trained and experienced GPs out to private practice or to work abroad is accelerating. It’s likened to a
This compact book, at 144 pages plus notes, is packed with information
leaky bucket – as soon as new GPs are fully trained, often with six-figure student loans accumulated, more leave to work elsewhere, retire or leave altogether because of the pressures.
Search for solutions
The final chapter contains several wellfashioned suggestions from GPs and their medical teams for the ways in which primary care can be set right again, for the benefit of medics and patients alike.
This compact book, only 144 pages plus end notes, is packed with information and is a necessary read for everyone who has ever found it difficult to navigate
the complex systems of GP and NHS services. It’s an important treatise, too, for politicians and government officials of every stripe.
We, as pensioners, have a duty to equip ourselves with knowledge and press for necessary changes. Poor care and harm to patients cost the NHS, according to arm’s length body NHS Resolution, £5.1 billion in compensations in 2023/24. This included legal costs but not the hidden costs of funding investigations nor the emotional grief and harm caused to damaged patients and their relatives.
How much more could be done with that money, or even a part of it, if the cause of those harms were avoided in the first place? Is a system of fines that reduces NHS funding the right way to affect the “learning” we’re so often promised? These questions, and many others, should be considered by our new MPs.
The area where you live might be blessed with caring GPs and their medical and administrative staff, but not everyone is so fortunate. Perhaps our new MPs could be persuaded to read this book and do everything possible in Parliament to urge the reforms that are so very necessary. Write to your MP, if you haven’t done so already, and ask their position on these matters. Add your voice. Together, we can be powerful.
Better together
Annette Hooper looks at a new chapter for a civil servants charity
Annette Hooper highlights a new chapter for the civil servants charity
The Charity for Civil Servants, which you may remember as the Civil Service Benevolent Fund, was established in 1886 by civil servants who wanted to support colleagues and their dependents facing hardship. Some 138 years later, it is still dedicated to that mission – providing a crucial umbrella of support for current, former and retired civil servants, free of charge. And it has a new CEO, former civil servant Jonathan Freeman MBE (pictured below), who says: “I feel very much like I’ve come home, stepping into this role.”
At the start of his career, Jonathan worked across a range of policy, delivery, strategic and front-line roles in a number of government departments. He went on to lead and develop Mosaic (the then HRH The Prince of Wales’s mentoring charitable initiative), before moving on to found the CareTech Foundation.
Jonathan was recognised with an MBE for charitable services in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2021.
Reflecting on his new appointment at the Charity for Civil Servants, he says: “It is my honour to be handed the baton to lead such an historic institution. Times are tough for so many people in our civil service community. I want to do everything we can to be there for civil servants when they might need help. My ambition is to ensure more and more civil servants are aware of their charity and encourage them to get involved.”
Jonathan continues: “Like many charities, the Charity for Civil Servants is facing a challenging future. Fundraising in today’s economic climate is hard work and we have to deliver a step change in our income to meet growing need.”
Helping civil servants
Speaking directly to the retired civil service community, Jonathan adds: “The retired community of civil servants has always been vital in supporting the Charity. Many will have contributed via
payroll throughout their career – as I did too in my time - and many more have been kind enough to remember the Charity in their wills.
“It is truly wonderful when we are able to help out a former civil servant by putting food on the family table. Or to help pay towards vital medical equipment for a current civil servant’s young daughter diagnosed with epilepsy. Or supporting civil servants like Marilyn (see box), who we helped at Christmas. All of this is possible because of your contributions.
“We have still got a big challenge before us, but I’m sure that if we all pull together as a community, we can hand over a healthy and robust charity, fit for another 100 years. Because, after all, we are better together.”
If you would like to find out more about the support that the Charity for Civil Servants can provide for retired members of the civil service community, please go to www.cfcs.org.uk. Or you can sign up to receive regular updates from us – visit www.cfcs.org.uk/hello.
• Annette Hooper is PR and campaigns manager for the Charity for Civil Servants
Christmas appeal
You can donate to the Charity for Civil Servants’ Christmas Appeal and help civil servants like Marilyn, who are struggling during such a tough time of year. Marilyn used to love winter and Christmas time. “We didn’t have much growing up, but my parents made sure the house was always full of magic,” she says.
Yet one December, Marilyn’s mother Ellen fell and broke her leg. She spent a long time in hospital and sadly, despite everyone rallying round, her health went downhill rapidly and she passed away.
At first, Marilyn thought she was coping. “I didn’t accept my mum’s death for a long time and tried to keep busy,” she says. “I was absolutely exhausted.”
Like many of us, Marilyn didn’t realise how much her grief had hit her. She stopped eating properly and lost a lot of weight. “I actually came very close to having a full-on mental breakdown,” she says.
When Marilyn reached out to the Charity for Civil Servants for help, it was her turn to be shown the kindness of others.
Other civil servants will face different challenges this winter. For those already struggling financially, just one extra unexpected bill can push them into a spiral of debt and despair.
But we can only help if you support us. Use the QR code to make a donation today, and help someone who may be swamped with money worries to get back on their feet for Christmas.
In Politics
WESTMINSTER
by David Hencke
In July, before summer recess, Chancellor Rachel Reeves sprung on MPs the news that she had decided to abolish the winter fuel allowance for 10.8 million pensioners. Only the very poorest claiming pension credit and other means-tested benefits would get it in future.
This took MPs of all parties by surprise as it had not been in the Labour manifesto, nor had there been any hints about it. In fact in 2017 Labour had opposed a plan by former Tory PM Theresa May that proposed exactly the same measure.
Rachel Reeves outlined the decision in the context of a £22 billion ‘black hole’ of unfunded Tory spending she had discovered, which had to be clawed back in spending cuts. She told MPs: “I am making the difficult decision that those not in receipt of pension credit or certain other means-tested benefits will no longer receive the winter fuel payment, from this year onwards. The government will continue to provide winter fuel payments worth £200 to households receiving pension credit or £300 to households in receipt of pension credit with someone over the age of 80.
“This is not a decision I wanted to make, nor is it one I expected to make, but these are the necessary and urgent decisions I must make. It is the responsible thing to do to fix the foundations of our economy and bring back economic stability.”
She went on: “Alongside this change, I will work with [Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall] to maximise the take-up of pension credit by bringing forward the administration of housing benefit and pension credit, repeatedly pushed back by the previous government, and by working with older people’s charities and local authorities to raise awareness of pension credit and help identify households not claiming it.”
The announcement caused a furore when MPs and peers returned from their summer break. It was being introduced by a statutory instrument that limits MPs and peers to just 90 minutes' debate, and initially the government was not going to allow a vote on it. But faced with opposition from every other party and some Labour MPs – and condemned by charities such as Age UK – it relented and agreed to a vote in the Commons.
On 10 September, MPs debated the issue. The government whipped Labour MPs to support the decision and won by 348 votes to 228. All the opposition
parties opposed the move but Labour’s large majority meant it won easily. Some 53 Labour MPs are thought to have abstained and a small number voted against – one official Labour MP, Jon Trickett, and several independent Labour MPs on the left of the party who had been suspended by Sir Keir Starmer, including John McDonnell, Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne and Zarah Sultana.
Opposition was stronger in the House of Lords. The Lords Statutory Instruments Committee investigated the statutory instrument that had introduced the new regulations, criticising the government for not providing an impact statement on how the cut would affect the poorest.
The report also condemned the government for not sending the report out for consultation to the Social Security Advisory Committee in advance, so it could comment on the changes. By law, the committee must be consulted; it will now examine them retrospectively.
Former Conservative pensions minister Baroness Altman put forward a motion to annul the regulations, which would have stopped the change dead in its tracks. This was not supported by the majority of peers. But they did support a Conservative motion regretting the means testing of the winter fuel allowance and the lack of transparency by Labour. It was passed by 164 votes to 132.
Although this did not stop the new regulations, it meant the government could not win a majority in the Lords.
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
By Christine McGiveron
An initiative has been launched to place Scotland at the forefront of the net zero economy, with targeted actions to secure growth and investment.
The Green Industrial Strategy sets out five priority areas where efforts and resources will be concentrated. A range of actions include hosting a global offshore wind investment forum next spring, working with the sector to develop hubs of hydrogen production and demand, and working with public and private partners to drive investment in key projects.
Fund, helping them energy projects such as installing wind turbines and solar panels to meet local needs.
The organisations will also be able to earn money from their projects – for example, by selling the excess energy generated back to the grid.
Acting Minister for Climate Action Alasdair Allan said: “It is crucial that communities are at the heart of Scotland’s ambition to become a renewable energy powerhouse – and this fund helps to ensure they can lead and benefit from this era-defining transition.”
Smith’s entrepreneurial background will help Scottish businesses forge strategic partnerships and identify new opportunities.”
Mr Smith’s appointment will be for two years (until 31 December 2026), with the possibility to extend for two more years.
Meanwhile, the Scottish government has written to Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) to pledge its support for their proposal to host the event in 2026.
Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray outlined the decision in a letter to CGS chair Ian Reid, following detailed consideration of the concept for a scaleddown version of the Games.
CGS will now decide if they wish to proceed with their proposal before it is considered by the Commonwealth Games Federation.
Mr Gray commented: “The fact that Glasgow was asked to step in and host the 2026 Games is testament to Glasgow and Scotland’s fantastic reputation for hosting international events.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes (pictured) and Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy Gillian Martin unveiled the strategy during a visit to Flowcopter, a company developing drones to be used in the offshore wind sector.
Communities across Scotland, including those in the Hebrides, Shetland and Arran, are also set to benefit from a share of a £1.5 million Scottish government funding pot aimed at supporting community renewable energy generation projects.
Groups in Eigg, Bressay, Tiree, Fair Isle, Barra and Arran will share funding from the Community Energy Generation Growth
Scotland’s ambition to become a leading space nation has taken a step forward with entrepreneur Daniel Smith taking up the position of Space Envoy within the Scottish government’s international business network.
Announcing the appointment at SpaceComm Expo in Glasgow – the first to be held in Scotland – Business Minister Richard Lochhead said: “The creation of the Space Envoy role is another indication of how quickly the sector is growing and of how importantly the Scottish government regards its contribution to the economy.
“The Scottish government has an ambition to capture £4 billion of the global space market and Daniel
Scotland’s ambition to be a leading space nation has taken a step forward
In a bid to increase the supply of social and affordable housing, councils will receive a share of an additional £40 million this year. The funding, which was confirmed in April, has boosted the affordable housing supply programme budget to nearly £600 million this year.
The money will mostly be distributed to five council areas – Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian. The remaining 27 local authorities will receive a share of the rest of the funding. A further £40 million will be allocated to councils next year.
Housing Minister Paul McLennan said: “The key to tackling homelessness and reducing the time spent by families in temporary accommodation is to deliver more affordable homes.
"This money will help councils provide a warm, safe place that families can call home again.”
WELSH PARLIAMENT
by Martin Shipton
Since the general election, when the Conservatives lost all their seats in Wales, we have been told repeatedly that two Labour governments working together from Cardiff and Westminster will be able to deliver tangible improvements to people’s lives.
Nothing would give older people in particular greater pleasure than to see significant improvements in NHS waiting times, which have been shockingly high in Wales for many years.
From a presentational point of view, it was therefore good to see new Wales Health Minister Jeremy Miles (pictured below), and UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting announcing that they would collaborate on a project to bring down waiting times in Wales and England.
So far, however, no details have been released about how such cooperation will work. What could be the reason for this? Are health officials from the respective governments working through the logistics of how cooperation will work in practice?
It’s difficult to imagine a conversation between Mr Streeting and Mr Miles in which the former offers extra resources to the latter to bring down waiting times in Wales. Wouldn’t voters in England take a dim view of such generosity, especially if Wales was benefiting to a greater extent?
The situation may become clearer when a detailed announcement is made. Clarity, however, won’t necessarily lead to greater harmony, especially if, as seems likely, Mr Streeting sees greater use of the private sector as the solution – Welsh Labour has shied away from this, seeing it as a slippery slope towards NHS privatisation.
On the other hand, many older people in Wales who can afford to do so have gone private because of their frustration with elective surgery waiting times.
The success or otherwise of whatever plans are announced is likely to have an impact on the result of the next Senedd election in 2026 – the first to be held using a voting system that is entirely proportional.
The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales has published a report linking the abuse of older people with the prevalence of ageism in our society. It defines ageism as “the stereotyping, prejudice and/or discrimination directed towards older people and based on their age or perceived age”.
The report says ageism increases the abuse of older people because it creates a climate within which older people are devalued and dismissed.
Ageism increases tolerance of the abuse of older people. This, in turn, reduces the likelihood of others intervening when an older person is abused.
Ageism shapes practitioner responses to the abuse of an older person. The abuse of older people is often assumed to arise because of “carer stress” and is more likely to be addressed through “safeguarding systems”.
But, argues the report, stopping the abuse that devastates the lives of so many older people means challenging and addressing the ageism that underpins it.
Tackling ageism, and its relationship to the abuse of older people, is an enormous task. However, there is much that can be done within organisations to begin to challenge the relationship between
Wales' Older People’s Commissioner has issued a report on ageism
ageism and the abuse of older people. The Commissioner has called on organisations to create and implement policies that address ageism and abuse.
These should be regularly discussed with staff and should involve training that focuses on the abuse of older people and encourages collaborative efforts to address ageism and its associated abuse. There should also be clear, confidential reporting procedures for suspected abuse and discriminatory behaviour.
Turning to the recent decision to limit the payment of the winter fuel allowance, although this is a non-devolved matter, members of the Senedd still debated the issue, with opposition MSs attacking the UK government for its meanness.
However, Mike Hedges, a Labour backbencher who chairs the cross-party group on older people, told the chamber: “I started to receive my state pension in July. I’ve never received a winter fuel allowance payment and now I will not.
"Do I need it? No. There is a discussion to be had over the universality of support –there’s a balance between ensuring no one misses out and the cost of provision.”
The motion condemning the changes to the winter fuel payment was defeated by 24 votes to 23.
NORTHERN IRELAND
By Tony McMullan
The four-party Assembly Executive agreed their draft programme for government in September and sent it out for public consultation. At its launch, Claire Sugden (chair of the All Party Group on Older People) complained the document made no reference to older people or their issues.
The CSPA NI has agreed to respond to the consultation, focusing on the need to: reduce, then sustain, waiting times for hospital and mental health facilities; extend age discrimination legislation to NI, as in England, Scotland and Wales, in respect to goods and services; reinstate winter fuel payments or a similar scheme to assist pensioners through very high fuel costs; and act urgently to stop the ongoing digital exclusion of older people.
Meanwhile, the All Party Group, on which the CSPA NI has observer status, held an excellent event in the Long Gallery of the Parliament Buildings. The event, Preparing for an Ageing Population, heard from Age NI, the Commissioner for Older People, the All Party Group Chair and Vice Chair, the British Association of Social Workers, Age Friendly Network and the Equality Commission for NI. There were also roundtable discussions from the diverse pensioner/older people groups present.
At lunch, First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma LittlePengelly joined the event and went round tables listening to the views and concerns of the older people present.
Earlier this summer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the government would be taking away the winter fuel payment of £200/£300 from more than 10 million pensioners; only those on pension credit would now be eligible.
As the issue is a devolved matter to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it was left to the three administrations to decide whether to retain the payment or not. In Stormont, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said: “The government hasn’t properly considered the decision, which will have health implications and may see people hospitalised as a result.”
It is not the richest in society who will be affected, he added, but “those on the edges and the fringes who are going to be deeply affected by this decision”.
There had been no consultation with the devolved administrations before the announcement, he said. And as the
government would not provide funding to keep paying everyone – in Northern Ireland it amounts to £44.3 million a year – there was no way this could be paid.
All four party leaders in NI's government condemned the decision and wrote to the Chancellor seeking a reversal.
Responding to the issue, National Pensioners Convention NI held a demonstration at Stormont in October against the withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance. Some 230,000 NI pensioners will lose out, with only 57,000 receiving pension credit retaining it.
The CSPA NI strongly supported the protest, as did MLAs from the Alliance Party, SDLP and People Before Profit.
The CSPA NI also welcomed the decision
The CSPA NI supported
October's protest over the winter fuel allowance cuts
of the Northern Ireland Assembly to convene an Older People’s Parliament in the Assembly Chamber on Saturday 12 October. Prior to the event, the Assembly asked pensioner groups what should be debated and the CSPA tabled seven items, including winter fuel payment, age discrimination legislation and social care.
But we became concerned when we learned the Assembly had hand-picked a committee to help organise the event. This group did not include the National Pensioners Convention NI.
We also learned that nine groups had been selected to make presentations at the event – but there would be no vote on what was said and only representatives from those groups could interact.
Two days before the event, we found out that neither the First Minister nor the Deputy First Minister – or any ministers –would be there and very few MLAs. And there would be no one responding to the debate in the Assembly Chamber. We also discovered that organisations such as the Irish Congress of Trade Unions had decided to withdraw from the event.
The matter was carefully considered by the CSPA NI's committee and the unanimous view was that the event seriously lacked democratic accountability; it would be a toothless talking shop. With great regret, we decided not to participate. The event proceeded and while some ministers and MLAs did turn up, there were few in the Assembly Chamber and none responded to the debate.
Your views
… inviting letters, comments or contributions, which may be edited to fit the space available
GRANDPARENTS’ NEEDS
I am writing to respond to the article about the advantages and disadvantages of being an active grandparent.
There are two elements the article didn’t discuss. These arise because so many people in the 55-75 age group are taking on very high amounts of grandparent duties.
First, many community groups, local societies and so on are adversely affected. The number of members who belong to these groups has been dropping significantly. Many also find it impossible to fill committee roles. This is because so many potential members and officers are spending most of their time with grandchildren. I belong to several such organisations, where members have been told the local societies will have to close if no replacements come forward, and I know of several which have indeed gone on to close.
Second, individuals are affected too. I do not have children or grandchildren and am single, so it is important to me to meet friends. An increasing number of friends, however, fill their time with grandchildren, sometimes looking after them five days a week, because their children either need or choose to work instead of looking after their own children.
I have lost friends... simply because they are too busy with grandchildren
This means the grandparents no longer have time for former friends of their own generation who are lonely and need them. I have lost perhaps six friends in the last two years, not through
MEDIA BIAS
In response to Something Else That Annoys Me by Chris Proctor (Autumn 2024), I would say that MOST media do not give any real NEW news, only what
I would say that MOST media do not give any real NEW news
any falling out, but simply because they are too busy with grandchildren. To give an example, I used to meet one friend perhaps three or four times a year when she was still working full-time. When she retired, I naively said it would be nice that we would have more time to meet up. Instead, I have not seen her at all in the last 18 months. I do not think this is unusual. Name and address supplied
most people would access on their mobile/tablet/computer, such as ‘which celebrity has a birthday’ on that particular day. For example, the continuous repeat of wars that have been going on for years thus inciting people to be biased in their thinking.
Bernard Southgate, Lampeter, Wales
CLIMATE HYPOCRISY?
Writing in the Autumn edition of The Pensioner, Mr S McBride was dismayed by a letter [described as a diatribe] written by a Mr Pantling in the Spring edition.
Mr McBride thought that 100% of the climate scientists could not be wrong. I could quietly suggest that with international climate change conferences held at regular intervals, it is an opportunity to travel possibly for free too. After all, who can forget the number of aircraft that turned up in Scotland and overflowed into the north of England to bring delegates to the Glasgow COP meeting some three years ago? We have had more such meetings since then.
What was the first thing that Ed Miliband did when he assumed office as UK Climate Minister? He went off to a climate meeting in South America! Great job if you can get it.
I accept that the Earth’s climate is changing. We are coming out of a mini-Ice Age and, as Professor Brian Cox pointed out: “The sun is getting warmer.”
Taking these two points together and further pointing out that the UK produces less than 1% of the bad
The measures to date are going to ruin the Scottish economy
gasses, why on earth are we rushing to wear a hair-shirt and lead the way? Nobody is going to follow us on the road to ruin. The measures put in hand to date are going to ruin the Scottish economy – but perhaps what happens in Aberdeen does effect Mr McBride in North Ayrshire.
A J Slatter, Reigate
INSURANCE TALE OF SUCCESS
As a 78-year-old, my partner and I wanted to take out annual worldwide travel insurance. So, I did what most of us do and I trawled the various comparison sites. The premiums they were proposing were exorbitant.
Then I read the advert in The Pensioner for the Civil Service Insurance Society
and tried them. I filled in the form online, including my CSPA membership number, and was amazed to find the quote was less than half that on offer elsewhere. I can recommend that you try them.
As a result, I’ve also asked them for a quote for my car insurance, and my home contents insurance.
John Clarke, East Solent Group
MORE VIEWS ON BREXIT
As correspondence on Brexit has yet to cease, I feel I might as well add to it, especially in response to John Davidson (Autumn 2024).
He talks about the democratic deficit we endured in membership of the single market (instigated by none other than Mrs Thatcher).
First, in describing the political deficit of the EU, he omits the role of the Council of Ministers who oversee the Commission’s role. Surely they are elected persons, ultimately representing voters?
As members, we had our own foreign policies, own currency, own laws on crime, commerce, healthcare etc, own armed forces and schools. We drove on the left. All the legislation on these matters was voted on by elected MPs, so I do not follow his ideas. We carried out our own ‘bonfires’ on legislation and regulation – and got Grenfell.
Yes, a majority of voters were in favour of Brexit (not in Scotland, where he resides!). But they were, I suggest, misled into believing we would gain more than we lost.
Where is the US trade deal? We have deals with the likes of Japan that merely mirror those enjoyed when in the EU. Membership of the single market, with a 0.8% net budget contribution and retention of the pound, was well worth any alleged loss of freedom.
He seems to discount the adverse effects Brexit has had and will have on our economy (see reports from the OBR, IFS, Bank of England, World Bank, IMF, OECD...).
With Putin such a threat, and US commitment to NATO in doubt, stronger political ties to Europe are necessary rather than being dumped as he suggests.
Stan Jonas, Hailsham
Poetry corner
No, what we find outrageous Is they think the old are “beige” – usWho once were ostentatious, Wearing clothes that were flirtatious, Psychedelic and audacious…. And it wears us down.
THE CHERRY TREE
I stand there tall and proud.
My branches adorned with the fluffy white spring blossom.
A delicate bouquet awaiting the bees and insects to sample my delicate pollen.
But where are the bees this year?
Just a few approach with a gentle buzz.
Once my canopy would ring with the humming bees, but not this year.
Just a quiet gentle hum.
As summer approaches my delicate blossoms flutter to the ground in a gentle breeze.
A spent canopy covers the ground below.
The sun is strong and endless.
It was a dry winter and now a long hot summer.
My roots are deep but the water table is low.
My roots fan out in a desperate attempt to support.
My fruits are small but ripe.
There is a plentiful supply but the great number of birds are just not here this year.
Not the squawking and squabbling that there has been in the past. They gently pick and fly away.
Autumn, a time when I show off all my beauty.
My leaves turning a beautiful shade of red and gold.
But it is short lived as the storms approach battering my branches.
The rain is persistent falling on the dry parched earth.
My trunk stands tall like a statue in the midst of a large lake.
Then the gales come howling through the nearby trees.
Branches come crashing down in a thunderous roar.
My roots are deep but the ground is drenched.
Can I survive or will my roots come keeling over.
Winter, a time for me to hibernate and shut down.
Will Jack Frost scatter its silvery dust across my branches whilst I sleep?
Will the winter sun glow upon the pure white snow around my trunk?
Will my bare dark branches stand like a statue against the clear winter sky?
Or will it be a mild winter and I awaken long before my time?
Margaret Waddingham, North Wales
They don’t mean to enrage us, But we wish they would engage us
In talk, not simply cage us In care homes, or assuage us With day trips somewhere spacious.
It makes us quite vexatious. No wonder we’re pugnacious … And it wears us down.
Don’t they know that we’re courageous, Adventurous and loquacious, That we have to be tenacious, For we see when they’re voracious
For our wealth, and when rapacious, Condescending or mendacious. We’re far too perspicacious….. And it wears us down.
Our lives may be oragious
But we try hard to be gracious, Stay the course, be pertinacious, Say experience is advantageous, Though suspect that is fallacious.
Old age is not contagious, And we try hard to be vivacious… But it wears us down.
Linda Martin, Manchester & District Group
Legal
Who is watching you, and why?
Bernard Seymour charts a course through protecting personal information
Data is one of the most valuable personal items we own, and with the speed of technological advances, our data is everywhere. This makes it easier to be scammed or for criminals to use our data for nefarious purposes. I spoke briefly at your AGM about how we can check what data an organisation holds, and the steps we can take to have the data amended or removed. Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), an individual has certain rights:
Subject access requests
You have the right to ask an organisation if they are using or storing your personal information and, if they are, the reason for doing so, what the information is and for a copy. This will include any emails with your details, internal memos, telephone recordings, texts or WhatsApp messages. This is called the right of access, also known as a subject access request (SAR) or data subject access request. Anyone can make an SAR, ideally in writing. The organisation cannot charge a fee and has one calendar month to respond.
Right to rectification
If you think your personal information is inaccurate, GDPR includes a right for
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.
To access the service the member
individuals to have inaccurate personal data rectified or completed if it is incomplete. Again, it is best to make the request in writing. Usually the organisation has one calendar month to respond.
In certain circumstances, an organisation can refuse a request for rectification, which is why this right is referred to as a ‘qualified right’. If the organisation does refuse, they have to explain their reasons for doing so.
An example could be where a clinician decides not to alter medical notes a patient considers to be inaccurate, as the clinician believes this could affect treatment of the patient in the future.
In this scenario, usually the clinician would be happy to add details that the patient has a different opinion without actually rectifying the notes.
Right to erasure
The right to erasure is also a qualified right and is sometimes referred to as the right to be forgotten.
In 2014, a Spanish gentleman, Mr González, took on Google as they refused to delete an article dating from 1998 which said his home was being repossessed to pay off debts. Mr González’ concern was that the article appeared if he was Googlesearched and he felt it was damaging
first needs to register online 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
to his reputation because he was now a successful businessman. Google refused to delete it, but the European Court of Justice agreed with Mr González and ordered Google to do so.
The right to be forgotten was subsequently adopted into GDPR in 2018.
As mentioned, this right is a qualified right and the organisation can refuse, but again must give their reasons for doing so.
An example could be where an organisation wants to keep details of the name and address of a member of a club who has been excluded for violent behaviour to ensure that the member does not rejoin in the future.
In this scenario, the organisation would be justified in keeping the member’s name and address and the reason for the exclusion, but would have no reason to keep any other data, which should then be erased.
If you decide to exercise your rights and are unhappy with the organisation’s response or they do not respond within the statutory timeframe, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office which is the data protection regulator.
As this is my last column of 2024, together with my colleague Suzanne, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy 2025.
work with a number of organisations who can provide this.
Helpline tel: 03300 55 25 30 or email: hello@affinityresolutions.co.uk
Helpdesk
Grant Emery from BC Technologies reports on online scams and what to
look out for
Online scams have become more and more advanced; it’s easier than ever to fall for one. Anyone who surfs the net will come across a scam at some point. Here’s how you can spot one and what you can do to avoid them, keeping you and your wallet safe from scheming scammers.
Phishing scams
These are when you receive some kind of message or email claiming to be from a person or company. They often ask you to click on a link, which will likely lead to a fake website imitating the real version. These sites usually display some kind of log-in page for a website such as Facebook. When you enter your details, it will note what you’ve entered and redirect you to the real Facebook home page.
That is just one example of the types of websites that phishing scams can lead you to. Some may target your bank details or personal data.
Fortunately, they can be easily avoided. This type of scam is only initiated by someone contacting you – if you ignore them, there’s nothing they can do. Most companies will not contact you directly, so if you receive an email from them, it’s worth checking the email address and for any spelling mistakes – and avoid clicking on any links or attachments included in the email.
Tech support scams are on the rise too. These usually come from clicking a link to what you thought was an eye-catching news article but takes you to a webpage telling you you have a virus on your computer and the only way to fix it is by calling the phone number provided. On calling this number, you will be put through to someone who claims to be from Microsoft or Apple, and they will ask you to give them remote access to your machine. Never give anyone access to your computer. It could result in you losing a lot of money. And because of the methods these fraudsters use, it would be impossible for your bank to undo.
If you ever find yourself with someone on your computer, the best thing to do is unplug it, then unplug your wifi to be extra-safe. That should kill the connection for good.
If you ever find yourself in this situation, it’s best to run a malware scan such as Malwarebytes to ensure nothing malicious is left behind on your machine.
Online shopping
Online shopping scams are everywhere. If you ever spot a deal that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Adverts selling something valuable at a low price will most likely be a scam. The item will either arrive and be completely different from
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.
what was shown online or it won’t arrive at all. So when shopping online, only use well-known, trusted websites. This ensures your card details are safe, you get what you’ve paid for, and the thing you’ve paid for actually gets to you.
Relationship scamming
With these types of scam, the fraudster will try and build up a relationship with you. They will create fake profiles on social media sites and claim to be having some sort of emergency for which they need your bank details. Never give any bank or personal details to someone you do not know, even if they are acting as your friend. It is never a good idea to trust someone you have never met in person. There are ways to confirm whether the person is faking it or not – check when the account was created or how many followers or posts they have. If they have very few, and the account is new, it is likely they are trying to trick you. In most cases, it is better just to block and ignore any accounts like this.
In conclusion, scams are something we have to learn to live with when going online. Although these are becoming more common, the methods to avoid falling for them are relatively simple.
By making you aware of the most common practices of online scams, you should now know what to look out for. The best way to avoid falling for a scam is to not interact with one. If it feels too good to be true, then it probably is.
WIN £50
PER PUZZLE of M&S vouchers
SUDOKU
Closing date: 31 January 2025. 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, 160 Falcon Road, London SW11 2LN.
You can enter the prize draw for both the sudoku and the crossword (overleaf) if you wish.
The winner of last issue’s sudoku is Stella Pilling, Harrogate
Name
Address
CROSSWORD
Closing date: 31 January 2025. 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 crossword and send with your contact details to: Prize Competition, CSPA, 160 Falcon Road, London SW11 2LN.
You can enter the prize draw for both the sudoku (previous page) and the crossword if you wish.
The winner of last issue’s crossword is Peter McCutcheon, Durham
Across
1 Michael ___ : pseudonym of poets Katherine Bradley and Edith Cooper (5)
4 Bob ___ : celebrated Liverpool manager (7)
7 Ancient Greek marketplace (5)
8 ___ Brooke: heroine of Middlemarch (8)
9 “Et tu, ___?” : line from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (5)
11 Westland ___ : British aeroplane known for secret missions in WWII (8)
15 A ___ to Arms: Ernest Hemingway novel (8)
17 King with a golden touch (5)
19 Roman York (8)
20 Volcanic mudflow (5)
21 Marshall ___ : philosopher who said “the medium is the message” (7)
22 A giant, often with two heads (5)
Down
1 Form of social organisation succeeded, in Marxist thinking, by capitalism (9)
2 Mountain known in Tibetan as Chomolungma (7)
3 The Stone of ___ : alternative name for the Stone of Scone (7)
4 Spinach-loving sailor (6)
5 Hero who killed the dragon Fafnir, in Norse mythology (6)
6 White heron (5)
10 Here Montgomery defeated Rommel (2,7)
12 Sorrowful lady of Irish mythology (7)
13 Counterpoint to a simple melody (7)
14 Site of Kubla Khan’s pleasure-dome (6)
16 Poetic name for Britain or England (6)
18 ___ Hayes: US singer and songwriter (5)
Last issue’s solution
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/
Something else that annoys me…
Chris Proctor explains why he’s determined to stay on dry land in his retirement
Why do people keep telling me I should go on a cruise? Why do they assume the moment I stop going to the office I’ll be desperate to loll on a boat idling round the briny?
If I want to stare out at a flat expanse of Adam’s ale I can do this from a hotel window in Scarborough – which is safe, easy to get to and offers exactly the same view as from a ship.
Sea is sea – but perhaps not blue. I’ve seen brown, grey and green sea but I draw a blank at blue. If you think the sea’s blue you’re either wearing tinted sunglasses, you’re colour blind or you’ve been taken in by the Cliff Richards song.
Of course, they tell me I haven’t seen all the seas of the world, which is ridiculous. Of course I have. There’s only one sea, it just goes round and round to different places. I can’t see why I should sit on a boat to prove it.
In fact, the only highlight of staring at the sea is that sometimes the tedium is eased by an outbreak of white surfy stuff that disappears the moment you look at it. And, assuming you want to see them, where’s the best place to examine rollers or breakers or waves? The coast. Not stuck on a ship in the middle of nowhere.
‘It would do you good.’ What would? ‘Sea air.’ So what’s in Scarborough? The aroma of Amazonian rain forest? The breeze of the Italian Alps? The scent of Japanese cherry trees? No. You get sea air in Scarborough, and plenty of it.
My partner Amanda and I were once in northern Spain and agreed to meet a couple of friends who were on a cruise ship stopping in Vigo for the day. We walked to the port but couldn’t find
their craft. ‘It’ll be the other side of that office block,’ I told Amanda. The office block turned out to be their ship. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like Birmingham in a biblical flood.
To my annoyance, Fran and Kevin hopped off looking breezy and perky. I’d hoped to see them disgruntled and unsteady. Worse, as we arrived they stood side by side and launched into a dance routine, full of twirls and pirouettes. I was appalled at them. ‘We learned it yesterday,’ Fran beamed. ‘It’s a Strictly Come Dancing cruise.’ I felt as queasy as if I, not they, had been on the high seas for a fortnight.
You think that’s bad? Shortly after, two other friends, having endured a similar maritime ordeal, invited us to dinner. Even before we’d been offered a glass of plonk they picked up ukuleles – ‘ruddy ukuleles’ as I call them – and plonked out a rendition of I Get A Kick Out Of You. They’d learned it at sea. God knows what they were on – a George Formby cruise?
Quite apart from all this, my dad was on a ship that was torpedoed in 1942 and I always think you can’t be too careful at my age. He ended up in a lifeboat that was washed up on a
There’s only one sea, it just goes round and round to different places. I can’t see why I should sit on a boat to prove it
Cape Verde island, where he contrived to remain for most of the next three years (proof of the ‘cloud-silver-lining’ theory, I suppose). Anyway, I consider myself something of an expert on sea travel from a nautical father and a few outings in a pedalo at Southport Boating Lake. Despite my objections, I regret to say the question of cruising still hangs over my retirement plans. Other Forces, as we’ll call her, is poised over a brochure as I type this, mentioning deck quoits. Strangely enough, I received heartening news from Belfast. Apparently some cruise was meant to be setting off round the world but technical difficulties kept delaying departure and it spent four months in port. ‘Ill-fated’, the newspapers called it. ‘Cursed’ one said. I thought it sounded marvellous. Just my sort of voyage. I wouldn’t choose Belfast, but Southampton, say, I could look forward to. Lots of places to visit nearby – Stonehenge, the New Forest, the Pilgrim Fathers and Mayflower Walking Tour, the Motor Museum at Beaulieu...
I’ve not actually put this compromise position to her yet as I want to do some research into availability, costs and locations before committing myself. But I think it will show her I’m not the sort of person to reject lunatic plans without due consideration.
Contact us
CSPA head office
160 Falcon Road, London SW11 2LN 020 8688 8418 www.cspa.co.uk
General secretary
Sally Tsoukaris sally.tsoukaris@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 cases 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
