Open Meetings

2025 Diary dates for Open Meetings at 2 pm at Friends Meeting House

  • Monday 17th March
  • Monday 19th May
  • Monday 21st July
  • Monday 15th September: AGM
  • Monday 17th November

Our first meeting of 2025 was on Monday 20th January

The Chair, Jim Cannon, opened the meeting by remembering our great friend and past Chair of YOPA, Bob Towner, who died on 4th January 2025. A brief silence allowed us to reflect on his immense service to older people in York. 

Then, in response to suggestions, we focussed on money, pensions, wills and lasting powers of attorney. 

Jenny Wright from the Money and Pensions Service gave an overview of financial wellbeing across Yorkshire. She will shared information on how to use MoneyHelper resources with links to support available around pensions, scams, and investments. Jenny also explained why it’s important to talk about money and the positive benefit that can have on our mental wellbeing. 

Jenny responded to questions on many matters, including: links to the pensions ombudsman; inheritance tax; the old versus new state pension; the risks of withdrawing from pension contributions; and how a spouse’s pension works.

We have been fortunate to be sponsored by Harrowells for the 50+ Festival in recent years and Amaya Huntly, Partner talked to us about Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney.  

Amaya answered many questions, including regarding: enduring versus lasting powers of attorney; disputes over care costs; assisted dying; the role of executors; and pension inheritance.

In addition, Age UK York have recently appointed Neville Ward to help raise awareness of these topics and he described aspects of his work. 

Our final Open Meeting of 2024 was on Monday 18th November with speakers: Sara Storey (CYC Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Integration) and Ruth Potter (Chair, St Sampson’s Centre)

Sara Storey introduced herself and her work at the Council. She answered questions on many topics, including: hospital discharges; children in care; self-funders (care homes); transitions in care, e.g., child to adult; out-of-area care provisions; working with local charities; housing; and diversity.
Ruth Potter described St Sampson’s Centre and its work and invited people to become volunteers in a variety of roles. She also wanted to hear people’s views on the interior design at St Sampson’s. She answered questions on various matters, including: funding of the Centre; partnership working with the Centre; and uses of the building and its facilities.

Our AGM was held on 21st September

Stephen Lewis, recently retired, spoke on his career at the York Press. He then responded to comments and questions from Members on York Press topics including: family announcements; the biggest changes in York over his career; the possibility of a weekly paper; editorial standards; holding the Council to account; the changing staffing and premises; the lack of a daily ‘Leader’; the online subscription arrangements; and the one story he would never forget.

The official charity business was concluded.

Our September 2024 Open Meeting was an Age Friendly York – Your Home Workshop

Cllr. Michael Pavlovic (Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer Communities) was present.

Workshop topics were planned to include:

  • Telecare and Equipment (Be Independent)
  • Falls (Falls Prevention Team)
  • Peer support – later life housing decision making
  • Intergenerational accommodation
  • Retrofitting homes
  • Housing development and homes for life – M42 & M43 standards
  • Access to information to enable an informed choice
  • Housing Options

Open meeting of Monday 15th July 2024

Speaker – Alison Wheatley, York Carers Centre

Alison talked about the work that the Carers Centre do in York, what support they can provide to carers, both adult and child carers and the difficulties often faced by carers (isolation, impacts on their own health and education, financial pressures etc) and the range of services they provide.  She particularly talked about the Carers Assessment of Needs and encouraged anyone who is caring to complete the application to ask for an assessment.  She said they are funded by CYC and work closely with other areas within the council, particularly social services.
Questions/Comments from the audience:
  1. Do older carers think about themselves as carers?
  2. What happens if the carer has a medical condition themselves ie they are bi-polar?
  3. How does the carers centre help with people caring for someone who lives a distance away from the carer?
  4. What is the phone number, address and how many paid staff are there?
  5. What about young carers when it affects them attending school?
  6. How many people contact the carers centre because they are living alone (AWOC)?
  7. Is there a list of what you have to deliver?
  8. Do you signpost people to things going on around the city and help them get out?
  9. Need to be sensitive to treating everyone as individuals
  10. Recommend they tell people to contact York Neighbours and U3A

Speaker – Annie Keogh, St Leonard’s Hospice

Annie is in charge of fundraising for St Leonard’s.  She talked about the services they provide, but apologised as her colleague who was more of an expert on this had been unable to attend today.  She gave her background to working at St Leonard’s, prompted by her mother having to be a patient there before she passed away.  She said they have to raise £6m every year, partly funded from the government, but much of it from fundraising activities like runs/walks, collection boxes, charity shops, gifts in wills, collections at funerals etc.  She said they have 15 shops, the latest in Malton and they are trialling selling brand new flat pack furniture through the Malton shop to see if it is something they should roll out elsewhere.  They have had a significant investment in improving the existing shops and opening newer ones, but the return from the shops is very good. St Leonard’s have been in existence for 40 years.
Questions/Comments from the audience:
  1. Do you run groups for long terms conditions ie lung conditions?
  2. Do you have a policy on assisted dying?
  3. Congratulations on achievements so far
  4. Is there any respite care provided at St Leonard’s for carers of people with dementia, who are not on end of life care?
  5. What makes your shops so good?
  6. Many, many comments saying how good the service at the hospice is and how good they make the end of life care for relatives of the dying, and how good their charity shops are

Open meeting of Monday 20th May 

Alison Semmence, Chief Exec at York CVS talked about “York CVS: At the heart of the system”.

Alison took questions from the floor on matters including funding in the voluntary sector and representation of the sector on numerous Boards, etc.

HealthWatch York is your way to influence local health and social care services – hospitals, care homes, GP surgeries, Home care services and many others. Janet Wright is the Chair of Healthwatch York and updated us on the latest news and events affecting the services in York.

Janet took questions from the floor on matters including: the loss of GP walk-in centres; the difficulty of identifying which of numerous routes to assistance to take; the GP complaints procedure; and climate change impacts on health.

Open meeting of Monday 18th March 2024

Dr Emma Olandj is the Director of Community Services, Nimbuscare, and leads on the city-wide Frailty Hub initiative. This has now been running since 1st November 2023 and offers a first port of call for crisis help to older or vulnerable people. Emma explained how it works and updated us on the progress to date. She particularly stressed that access to the Frailty Hub is via a GP or attending ambulance paramedic; there is no direct access for patients, and it is for short term acute situations, rather than chronic referrals.

The Falls Prevention service is run by City of York Council and aims to help people stay in their homes. The service covers falls prevention/handy person services, adaptations and energy efficiency grants while helping tenants in Private Rented homes using a regulatory approach. Helen Chafer and Laura Swan were the speakers. Several Members praised their experience of the Falls Prevention Service.

Both of these topics are about helping those in greatest need.

York Older People's Assembly
York Older People's Assembly

Tel: 07965 246193

Email: yorkolderpeoplesassembly@outlook.com

York Older People’s Assembly, St Sampson’s Centre, Church Street, YORK YO1 8BE

Registered Charity No: 1101018

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Working for older people in York, we aim to:

  • Represent the views of older people in York to decision makers locally and nationally.
  • Inform older people about services that are available.
  • Identify where needs are not being met.
  • Work with the local authority and others to make York an age-friendly city