Islington's getting better for older people

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 24th Apr 2002

Liberal Democrats believe older people are not just 'older people'. They are members of society - not just service-users. They are part of the community and have interests in children, grandchildren, friends and relatives as well as in the lives they live themselves. They are users of services, they are participants in the community and they are part of society. Islington Liberal Democrats believe that the role of Council services is to work to improve the lives of residents, including older residents. Like anyone else their standard of living is affected by their environment and Council services. Since taking control of the Council in January 2000 we have worked hard to improve the services we offer to older people. This has been recognised by outsiders. The recent 'Joint Review' of Social Services carried out by the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) and the Audit Commission judged that: "Islington is actively promoting national agendas for older people and mental health users. Very significant changes have been and are being made to service provision and these are likely to promote better outcomes." (January 2002) In addition, older people are also benefitting from a whole range of improvements which the Liberal Democrats have made to Islington Council services (More detail can be found at www.islingtonfocus.com and in The Start We've Made). Liberal Democrats are especially proud that as a result of decisions we have taken older people are benefitting from: ? the restoration of the Older People's Decoration Scheme ? a vastly-improved housing repairs service ? we are starting a programme to upgrade all street lighting in the borough ? improved estate security, especially concierge and entryphone systems ? a much better quality and more flexible meals on wheels service ? we have rebuilt the Barnsbury Centre for Alzheimers support ? we have acted to tackle anti-social behaviour, through initiatives such as neighbourhood wardens and ABCs ? we have introduced a range of initiatives to achieve cleaner streets, and have received praise from the Audit Commission for this ? we have created an anti-graffiti team ? We are piloting a community digital TV channel, especially useful for those who find it more difficult to get out, including older people In this election, Islington Liberal Democrats have made one of their six key pledges about older people: "We will set up a forum for Islington's older residents as part of involving older people in making Council services suit them." And our main manifesto for the 2002 local elections says: We aim to reinvent our provision for older people for the 21st century. We will look afresh at our social services to find ways to meet needs more effectively. We will raise the standard of the services already provided. For example, we have already commissioned builders to rebuild Preedy House as a new residential nursing home for the elderly. They will start work on a new, state of the art home as soon as they can. We intend to commission a new residential/nursing home for older people with dementia at a suitable site. The safety and security of all Islington residents is of great importance to us. We will continue to work with the police and community to prevent crime and promote law & order. In partnership with the police and community, we will run a crime prevention week and invest in measures to protect buildings and parks from vandalism. We will continue to seek funding for more CCTV to deter crime and bring to justice those responsible. We intend to develop shop-watch, work-watch and school-watch schemes and continue with concierge schemes in housing blocks where they currently work effectively. We will target advice to vulnerable groups in the community, like older people and those who have been victims of crime. We have introduced estate wardens who take an active role in improving security on estates. These wardens are people taking a lead in improving their own community. Our pilot schemes were so well run that the Government gave us more money. Two of our wardens won national awards recognising their achievements in providing excellent services for local people.