About Age Concern England
Age Concern cares about all older people and believes later life should be fulfilling and enjoyable.
But for too many older people this is impossible. Problems such as inadequate income and housing make their lives a misery. Worries about issues such as long-term care cause them great anxiety. Lack of accessible transport, shopping and leisure facilities can leave them housebound and isolated. Negative attitudes and stereotypes often mean they are not valued in their communities.
Age Concern find effective ways to deal with these issues.
In its role as the National Council on Ageing, it brings together the network of 1400 local Age Concern organisations and over 100 national organisations in the UK (including the main professional bodies and pensioner organisations), making them the leading charitable movement in the UK concerned with ageing and older people.
Where possible, Age Concern enable older people to solve problems themselves, providing as much or as little support as they need. Locally, the charity's organisations provide vital services, focusing on the needs of older people in their areas. These can include day centres, lunch clubs, home visits and transport services, many funded through contractual agreements with local government.
At national level, it takes a lead role in campaigning to influence government policy and bring about lasting change, in the provision of information and advice, research, training and grants.
Age Concern co-ordinate a number of initiatives which promote healthier lifestyles, provide older people with opportunities to give the experience of a lifetime back to their communities and encourage interaction between the young and old in order to break down stereotypes.
The dedicated work of over 250,000 volunteers notwithstanding, it couldn't sustain its wide range of work without funding.
Life contains many uncertainties but there is one thing we can all be sure of - each day of our lives we get older. Age Concern is there for the millions of older people who need help and advice today. With support the charity plans to continue to be there for the millions who will need it in the future.
Our history
The origins of Age Concern at a national level are inextricably linked to the upheaval of the Second World War, which made life more difficult for older people in many ways but also revealed their existing problems, particularly the unsuitability of Poor Law provision. The Old Age and Widows Pensions Act (1940) introduced the system of supplementary pensions for elderly people.
Twenty national voluntary organisations concerned with older people, three government departments and experienced individuals were called together to a conference on 7 October 1940 to consider the welfare of older people. This conference, chaired by Eleanor Rathbone, formed a committee, the Committee for the Welfare of the Aged.
This Committee was the origin of Age Concern England. In its first year this Committee for the Welfare of the Aged decided to call itself the Old People's Welfare Committee (OPWC) and quickly gained official recognition.
In 1944 the OPWC adopted the title National Old People's Welfare Committee (NOPWC) to distinguish it from the growing number of local committees
The end of the war did not mark an immediate improvement in the lives of older people as there were still great disruptions and shortages.
The NOPWC relied totally on voluntary donations until 1949 when it received its first annual grant from the Ministry of Health.
Although the network was growing throughout the 1950s, by the end of the decade it was realised few local committees had paid organisers to cope with the administration and many were short of finance and volunteers. The NOPWC made efforts to improve the situation and to help local committees with obtaining financing. In 1955 the NOPWC became a Council rather than a Committee to emphasise and explain its co-ordinating function.
In 1971 the cover name of Age Concern was adopted, to be carried alongside the constitutional title of NOPWC and reflecting a new emphasis on the organisation's role in bringing public attention to the needs of elderly people.
As more people started adopting the name Age Concern, the began to benefit from a unified image, a well-known public name which correctly suggested they are now co-ordinating bodies, instigators and providers of direct services.
During the 1970s, Age Concern England identified itself with many specific causes, including the elimination of hypothermia, the retention of the death grant and the problems of social security claimants.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, reductions in public expenditure, new attitudes to social problems and new expectations of the voluntary sector forced many voluntary organisations to re-examine their work. Age Concern England developed a more sophisticated strategy to work in the area of legislative change. Although Age Concern England has charitable status it is permitted to engage in political lobbying work and public education as long as this is a subsidiary part of its work.
The organisation changed its constitutional title to the National Council on Ageing, which now brings together 85 national organisations concerned with ageing as well as representatives of over 1000 local Age Concern organisations.
In the 1990s the organisation has had to shift its emphasis in line with social and political changes and now faces the problem of deciding upon the appropriate role for voluntary organisations because a more plural approach to welfare is pre-eminent and the voluntary sector is again providing some essential welfare services.
The next fifty years will see Age Concern trying to preserve the qualities that have made it distinctive: independence; flexibility; responsiveness; and commitment to older people who are vulnerable or disadvantaged.
Ultimately, Age Concern can only maintain these qualities if it has the support of the public and in particular the backing of those older people with whom it is privileged to work.