LINKAGE PLUS PROJECT
VILLAGE AGENTS
GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
in partnership with
GLOUCESTERSHIRE RURAL COMMUNITY COUNCIL
SECOND INTERIM REPORT
LYNNE WILSON
INLOGOV, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY,
THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
DECEMBER 2007
1.
INTRODUCTION
The following report is the second Interim Report on the progress of the
Village Agent LinkAge Plus Project. Under the conditions of the
Memorandum of Understanding Gloucestershire County Council in
partnership with Gloucestershire Rural Community Council has continued to
support Village Agents in their roles and has continued to monitor the project’s
progress. The second Interim Report analyses the second round of data
received from the standardised enquiry form (Gateways), the Adult Service
Help Desk statistics and further best practice diaries and case studies.
The second Interim Report will :
 Consider any changes made to Clusters since the first Interim Report
 Revisit the Outcomes and Success Criteria for the Project
 How the Project is continuing to meet its Success Criteria and analysis
 Setting up of Village Agent Web site
 A further look at diaries and case studies
 Village Agents’ Role during the floodings in Gloucestershire
 Research to be conducted for the next Interim Report
1a. Changes to Clusters since last Interim Report
Village agents have continued to work in individual parish clusters within
North and South Cotswolds, Stroud, Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury. There
have been a number of changes in the parish clusters since the first Interim
Report in August 2007. Individual parishes have increased by 2 in North
Cotswolds and have increased by 15 in South Cotswolds. In Stroud individual
parishes have increased by 5 and in the Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury they
have increased by 5 and 4. These increases have mainly been as a result of
adding new parishes into existing clusters and the average cluster now has
approximately 1300 residents over 60. A full listing of the clusters is shown in
Appendix 1.
1
1b. Revisit the Outcomes and Success Criteria for the Project
In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding and depending on
initial baseline levels a 5 – 25% level of improvement is expected in the
overall satisfaction levels of older people over the life span of the project.
The success criteria based on 4 outcomes :
 Outcome 1 Older people in Gloucestershire villages and particularly
those who are older, frail and vulnerable, feel more secure, feel more
cared for and those have a better quality of life.
 Outcome 2 Older people will have easy access to a wide range of
information, will enable them to make informed decisions about their
own well-being.
 Outcome 3 Older people will be in receipt of any services or
assistance that can help them remain independent in their own homes
and enable them to feel part of a supportive enabling community.
 Outcome 4 Older people will be engaged to enable them to influence
both development of the Village Agent role and future service
In order to reach these outcomes the monitoring period of the project has a
number of Success Criteria targets. The monitoring data being used in this
particular report covers a span of JULY – OCTOBER 2007. The data will be
used to :

Assess the success criteria of 1500 village agents contacts for each
three month period April 2007 – June 2008. This figure for the 2nd
interim report will reflect a 4 month period

Assess the success criteria of 500 village agent contacts to Adult
Services Helpdesk for each three month period April 2007 June 2008.
Again this figure for the 2nd interim report will reflect a 4 month period.

Assess the success criteria that village agents will continue to run a
minimum of one surgery meet with one local or statutory or voluntary
group or continue to visit 4 people in their own homes per week or
continue to complete other tasks as required by their role in their
locality as part of their outreach services.

The 2nd interim report will also assess the increase in benefit
applications, and any increase in referrals to energy schemes.

The report will also assess the number of village agent requests for
smoke alarms to be fitted. In the first report a measurement of success
for the Village Agent Project was the increase in requests for smoke
alarms to be fitted by village agents.
2
1c Meeting the Success Criteria : A Summary

Assess the success criteria of 1500 village agents contacts for each three
month period April 2007 – June 2008.

Village Agent contacts for period July – October 2007
The total number of village agent contacts for the period July to October 2007
amounted to 6532, with the total number of meetings reaching 1077. This
figure again more than exceed the 1500 village agent contacts. These figures
also represent a 50.36% increase in contacts since June 2007 and a 44.75%
increase in meetings since June 2007. However it should be noted that this
increase is over a 4-month period.

Assess the success criteria of 500 village agent contacts to Adult
Helpdesk for each three month period April 2007 – June 2008.

Village Agent contacts to Adult Helpdesk for period July – October
2007
This target has also been viewed as unrealistic. However, the number of
village agent contacts to the Adult Help desk has been 871. This figure 871
exceeds the target figure of 500 by 371. However these figures do represent
a 4 month period.

Assess the success criteria that village agents will continue to run a
minimum of one surgery meet with one local or statutory or voluntary
group or continue to visit 4 people in their own homes per week or
continue to complete other tasks as required by their role in their
locality as part of their outreach services

For period July – October 2007
The target for the period July – October 2007 has been more than exceeded
with 6532 contacts being made and the total number of meetings reaching
1077.
3

Assess the success criteria of increase in benefit applications and
increase in referrals to energy schemes.

For period July – October 2007
For the period July – October 2007 there has been an increase in benefit
applications amounting to 68 Referrals to energy schemes amount to
41 for this 4 month period. Referrals to energy schemes up to June 2007
amounted to 44 but this figure was calculated over a longer time span.

Assess how Village Agents have been promoting volunteering and
liasing with the existing Time Banking Scheme and other voluntary
organisations
The Standardised Enquiry Form (Gateways) show that 17 enquiries have
been signposted to volunteering opportunities during July through to October
2007


Assess the number of village agent requests for smoke alarms to be
fitted.
For period July – October 2007
The number of requests by village agents for fire alarms to be fitted for the
July – October 2007 period amounted to 54.

FLOODING SUPPORT – During the flooding of many parish clusters in
Gloucestershire, Village Agents took on an important role in supporting
older people. This support is on going and examples of this support
will be included in this interim and future reports an analysis will be
made of the impact the presence of Village Agents had on older people
affected by the storm floodings in Gloucestershire.
During July through to October 2007 62 contacts were made through the
Gateway Form requesting Flooding support.
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1d Maiden Data
Maiden data covering profiles of Gloucestershire and relating to parish
clusters was made available to the local evaluators. This data gives
information about individual parish clusters and is broken down into 7
sections. These sections are Overall Population, Children and Young People
(and includes data concerning children with disabilities and young offenders),
Economy and Enterprise (and includes work related data), Access to Services
(and includes actual drive times to services) Safer and Stronger (and includes
crime data), Healthier Living and Older People (and includes data on
Admissions to Hospital, Adult Care Services). The data included in the
Healthier Living and Older People section does give the number of Adult care
cases over 75. The data also gives a breakdown of referrals to services such
as domiciliary care and occupational therapy, however this breakdown doesn’t
stipulate age ranges.
With this mind the local evaluators will not be using this data in any analysis
within the Interim Reports. However, this data could be a useful source of
comparison data within the final Evaluation Report.
1e Revisions made since the last Interim Report
 It was decided between Gloucestershire County Council and the local
evaluators that the focus groups with statutory and voluntary
organisations completed in October would benefit from further focus
groups to enable a more enriched qualitative study of joined up working
between these organisations and the role of village agents.

There is now a Village Agents Web Site and the Gateway referral
system is now web based with a view to other organisations using it.

A six month pilot will be commencing in January using Community
Agents based within BME and migrant communities rather than being
area based.
2. MONITORING SECTION
2 a. Analysis of Data from Standardised Enquiry Form :
The Village Agent project has continued to use a standardised enquiry form –
Gateway to monitor the enquiries received. The form has continued to
monitor such information as the demographic characteristics of people
accessing the service, how and where they make contact and the resulting
actions.
The following data and information is based on the monitoring information
collected between July and the end of October 2007.
5
Number of visits Made By Village Agents
The overall evaluation forms for the monitoring period July – October 2007
see the number of visits by village agents per month ranging from 146 – 221.
This breakdown of figures is shown in the graph below (Graph 1).
During July village agents made 146 visits and during August the visits
increased to 157 giving a slight increase in visits. During September there is
a dip in the number of visits to 123. However, in October there is a big
increase in visits (221). The dip in visits during September could be a result
of Village Agents taking annual leave.
Further monitoring periods will continue to map any further increases or
decreases.
Graph 1
Total Number of Visits by Village Agents per month
250
numbers
200
150
100
50
0
Jul-07
Aug-07
Sep-07
Oct-07
month
People Receiving Visits from Village Agents by Age Per Month
Graph 1 identified the broad patterns of overall visits made by Village Agents.
6
Graph 2 (below) gives a breakdown of people by age who receive visits from
Village Agents. In the months July, September and October the age ranges
are comparatively evenly matched. However, August is somewhat different in
that all age ranges or marginally lower than other months with the exception
of the unknown category. The explanation for this could be that people were
not asked to give their age or people were not willing to give their age range.
Interestingly, the unknown category recorded the most received visits by
village agents.
In regards to the other age ranges over all four months older people within the
80-84 age range received the most visits. In July this figure totalled 43 in
August it was 30 and in September it was 39. However, the month of October
differed slightly when the 70-74 and 85-89 age ranges each totalled 30 and
received the most visits.
As with the first Interim Report people within the lower age ranges received
the least visits and it can only be assumed that older people within the lower
age ranges are more likely to be actively mobile and are able to access
services on their own behalf without the assistance of a village agent. Or
there is less need for services in this age group.
Graph 2
Breakdown of People Receiving Visits from Village Agents
by Age per Month
140
50-54
120
55-59
60-64
100
65-69
80
70-74
75-79
60
80-84
40
85-89
90-94
20
95-99
0
unknown
July
August
Sept
Oct
7
People Contacting Village Agents by Gender
Graph 3 looks at who is contacting Village Agents and the second round of
monitoring shows a re-occurrence of more women than men over 50
contacting village agents.
Graph 3
Breakdown of People Contacting Village Agents by
Gender per Month
160
numbers
140
120
100
male
80
60
female
unknown
40
20
0
Jul-07
Aug-07
Sep-07
Oct-07
months
The graph reveals that in July women were three times more likely to contact
a village agent. Some 144 women aged over 50 contacted village agents
alongside 48 men.
These figures declined overall in August with 115 women making contact
alongside 43 men. Interestingly, the figure not knowing the gender of the
person making contact trebled in August. This increase during August could
be possible Flood victims or because Village Agents have been giving out
simple information they have not been recording details in full. Figures during
September rose again for women (122) but declined for men (38).
In October the figure for women rose again to 152 and this figure was the
highest for the 4 month period. The figure also rose for men to 63 and this too
was the highest figure for men over the 4 month period.
It can only be assumed that women are more likely to ask for assistance or be
aware of the role of village agents. Women could arguably be going to more
social events were village agents are leaving information.
There are also more female village agents than men 21 women to 7 men and
this could be a reason for the low number of men contacting Village Agents.
8
As stated earlier in the report, data recorded in the Maiden material fails to
give any socio-demographic breakdown for the parish cluster so it is
impossible to give examples of the gender profile of any of the individual
parish clusters.
People Contacting Village Agents by Ethnic Group
Graph 4 illustrates the number of contacts by ethnic grouping. The number of
contacts over the July – October 2007 period by ethnic grouping were
predominately ‘White British’ and unknown’.
GRAPH 4
numbers
Breakdown of People Contacting Village Agents by Enthnic Group per
Month
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
As./B.As.
Bl./Bl.Brit
Chinese
M.Parent.
Unknown
Other
White
Jul-07
Aug-07
Sep-07
Oct-07
months
In July 160 people of ‘White British’ ethnic grouping contacted Village Agents
and 46 people were recorded as ethnicity unknown. In August the number of
‘White British’ declined whereas people in the unknown category increased to
115.
In September ‘White British’ contact declined to 47 while the ‘unknown’
category increased to 136. While in October the figure of 185 was recorded
under ‘White British and 61 contacts were recorded under ‘unknown’.
This reflects the recordings of the Village Agents rather than the ethnic
makeup. Village Agents are instructed to put ‘unknown’ unless they ask a
question about ethnicity. Thy are told not to judge for themselves. Unless
there is a need for the ethnic data for example in regards to social care they
do not record it.
Unfortunately the data from Maiden does not have a socio-demographic
breakdown for the parish clusters so it is impossible to describe the ethnic
profile of any of the areas.
9
How and Where do People Contact Village Agents
When examining the data for the completed standardised enquiry forms
(Gateways) as with the previous Interim Report the results reveal a mixed
performance from the village agents. Some of the lowest number of returned
Gateways are from Village Agents were in Tewkesbury. Interestingly, areas
within Stroud have some of the lowest numbers of returned Gateways while
another area of Stroud as the highest number of returned Gateways.
GRAPH 5
Scatter Graph Showing Number of Gateways
Returned to Village Agents by Individual Parish
Cluster up to October 2007
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
S5
S4
SC5
NC1 NC3
SC1
NC2
S6
S2
SC3
SC2
SC4
FOD1
TW2
FOD6
FOD4
SC6
SC7
S1
S7
FOD3
S8
S3
FOD2
TW5
TW6
TW4
FOD5
TW3
TW1
Graph 5 shows that the majority of individual parish clusters are returning
between 20 and 80 completed Gateways. There are 8 parish clusters
returning between 80 –120 with1 parish cluster within Stroud returning 160
completed Gateways.
Village Agents within Forest of Dean (FOD) and Tewkesbury (TW) again
appear to have fewer returned Gateways. However, these numbers do
appear to run parrellel with returned Gateways within South Cotswolds (SC).
Village Agents from Stroud have continued to perform well with parish clusters
within this area returning some of the highest number of completed Gateways.
Meeting the Success Criteria
The Success Criteria in the Memorandum of Understanding (Gloucester
County Council, 2007) identifies
“Village Agents will run a minimum of one surgery, meet with
10
one local statutory or voluntary group, or visit 4 people in their homes
or complete other tasks as required by their role in their locality as part of
their outreach services, this will aid in publicising their presence and in
establishing a sustainable community network.”
The Memorandum of Understanding continues to state that there will be a
minimum of 1500 village agent contacts made for each monitoring period.
The target for the period July to October 2007 has more than exceeded the
1500 minimum, by contacts amounting to 6532 and the total number of
meetings reaching 1077. The following 2 diagrams illustrate the different
places village agents have made contact with people, the number of people
they have made contact with and the number of meetings, which have arisen
from these contacts.
Diagram 1
Points of Contact for Village Agents between July – October 2007
Other
21%
Church
1%
Health/GP
5%
Existing
34%
Stakeholder
9%
Parish
9%
VA Surgery
6%
Home Visit
15%
Diagram 1 shows that for the period July through to October 2007 the greatest
point of contact for village agents arises from existing sources such as
attending meetings already established (e.g. WI, lunch clubs). This point of
contact also had the highest percentage in the previous monitoring period. But
the percentage has lowered from being 55% to 35%. Other and Home Visits
are the second and third main points of contact and Other has replaced
Parish as the second main point of contact.
The Village Agent Surgery has maintained 6% of the total point of contact.
Home Visit as a point of contact has increased from 10% to 15%.
Stakeholders as a point of contact have increased to 9% from 5%. It would
appear the village agents are increasing contact points other than those
already existing.
11
Diagram 2
Number of Meetings arising from points of contacts between
July – October 2007
1%
8% 1%2%
4%
15%
Health/GP
Existing
9%
Home Visits
VA Surgery
Parish
Stakeholder
Church
Other
60%
Diagram 2 illustrates that when it comes to holding meetings with people the
most popular location for the monitoring period July – October 2007 is in
people’s homes, followed by existing meetings. These two locations were
also the two most popular in the previous monitoring period. However, Home
Visits within this monitoring have increased from 39% to 60%.
12
Graph 6
Scatter Graph showing Number of Contacts made by Village
Agents by Individual Parish Cluster between July – October 2007
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
S7
SC1
SC5
SC4
SC6
TW4
SC2
NC1NC2
NC3
SC3
S2
SC7
S8
S5
S4 S6
100
50
TW3
FOD1
S1 S3
FOD2
TW2
FOD4
TW1
FOD5
FOD6
FOD3
TW5
TW6
0
Graph 6 illustrates individual parish clusters and village agent performance.
The scatter graph shows a dispersed range but with distinct groups. The
majority of village agents have made between 150 and 250 contacts during
this monitoring period, whereas last monitoring period revealed that the
majority of village agents made between 50 and 250 contacts.
South Cotswolds have a number of parish clusters with 250 – 350 contacts
being made by village agents. A number of parish clusters within Tewkesbury
have increased the number of contacts made with (TW2,TW3, TW4) moving
out of the 0 – 100 contacts range.
13
Graph 7
Scatter Graph showing Village Agents Meetings for Individual Parish
Clusters between July – October 2007
120
100
80
S5
NC3
TW4
SC5
S4
S6
60
SC3
40
NC1
20
SC6
SC1 SC4
S2
SC2
S7
SC7
NC2
0
S8
S1
S3
TW2
FOD5
FOD6
FOD4
FOD1
TW6
TW3
TW5
FOD3
FOD2
TW1
Graph 7 is showing that for this monitoring period village agents from
Tewkesbury are holding more meetings. Last monitoring period village
agents in Tewkesbury were holding fewer meetings than other village agents.
Stroud (S5) has held the highest number of meetings. However the majority
of village agents have held between 20 –60 meetings.
The above graph does show recordings of 0 for some clusters and this
accounts for the resignation of some Village Agents and one Village Agent
unable to fulfil their role through ill health.
Main Issues and Topics for Contacting Village Agents
From July through to October 2007 the top ten topics or concerns people over
50 years had in the defined parish clusters which prompted them to contact a
Village Agent are
Topic
1. Support – General
2. Housing
3. Other
4. Adult Helpdesk
5. Transport
6. Benefits
7. Fire and Safety – smoke alarms
8. Care and Repair
9. Flooding Support
10. Energy – home heating/insulation
Gateways
254
136
107
93
71
68
68
65
55
41
14
Between June 2007 and October 2007 there have been a number of changes
in the top ten topics. Enquiries around support in general have remained
high. Enquiries concerning benefits have increased to 68. Energy in the form
of home heating/insulation requests have reached 41 over the 4 month
period. Transport enquiries are placed fifth in the top ten topics and enquiries
to the Adult Help Desk are placed fourth in the list (93).
Placed fifth in the top ten list is Flooding Support with 55 and as stated earlier
in the report providing flooding support has been a role that many village
agents have taken on. The monitoring and analysis of the support given in
the aftermath of the flooding in a number of the parish clusters will be an
ongoing process in subsequent and final reports.
The Memorandum of Understanding states that both benefit applications and
referrals to energy schemes should have increases of 5% by June 2008.
Benefit applications for the 4 month period July – October amount to 68. In
the first Interim Report benefit applications amounted to 61. Referrals to
energy schemes for this four monthly period have amounted to 41.
Volunteering is the other topic identified in the Success Criteria in the
Memorandum of Understanding and there were 11 returned Gateways
relating to volunteering. The Time Bank in North Cotswolds is still continuing.
However, the Tesco Home Shopping resulting in a £5.00 discount for internet
shopping did not prove popular. Feedback indicates that most people regard
shopping as a social activity and would rather go with someone to shop if at
all possible. Feedback in the North Cotswolds indicates that there is not a lot
of demand for a community bus service in the North Cotswolds district; but
there is north of Tewkesbury and so efforts are now being concentrated in this
area.
For a completed overview of the topics and concerns the village agents have
provided help with either through services, signposting or referrals see
Apendix II – monthly breakdown of Gateway information).
The Memorandum states a specific focus on benefits, energy schemes and
volunteering. The table below gives a breakdown of this focus.
Benefits
Energy
Volunteering
July 2007
8.3
2.3
.6
August 2007
6
2.3
1.2
Sept. 2007
7.7
5.1
.4
Oct. 2007
6
4.3
1.5
3. Analysis of Adult Helpdesk Statistics
15
The Success Criteria in the Memorandum of Understanding stated that there
should be 500 Village Agent contacts for each four month period from April
2007 to June 2008. Each Village Agent is to make one contact per week to
the Adult Help Desk. For the 4 monthly period July to October there have
been 93 contacts to the Adult Helpdesk, this figure represents approximately
6 contacts per week. The first Interim Report revealed a figure of 57 contacts.
This tells us that there has been a 63.15% increase.
4. Diaries and Best Practice Case Studies
The village agents have continued to keep diaries and good practice case
studies. This 2nd Interim Report contains diaries from
Pauline Thompson (Cotswolds)
Sue Black (Cotswolds)
Lou Kemp (Stroud)
Best Practice Case Studies from
Sue Black (Cotswolds)
Richard Lee (Tewkesbury)
Claire Manigrasso (Tewksbury)
Diary for June:- Pauline Thompson
04 June - Computer Time
05 June - My Coffee Morning at Duntisbourne Abbotts which 10 people attended. It was the
first event after the re-opening of the up-dated Hall. Those that were present would like a
coffee-morning every couple of months.
06 June - GRCC meeting at CDC - Stakeholders
07 June - computer,office work and in the afternoon visits to Mr.Williams and Mrs. Fitzpatrick
in Winstone
08 June - phone calls and computer
11-16June - Holiday
18 June - Office work
19 June - Visit Mrs. Joinson, Cirencester and new clients Mr. & Mrs. Parker at Duntisbourne
Abbotts
I met Mr.& Mrs. Parker at my Duntisbourne Abbotts Coffee Morning on June 5th. Mr. Parker
has a deteriorating back condition which had recently been made worse by a very heavy fall
down the stairs.This happened one evening and Mrs.Parker had to call an ambulance and her
husband was kept in hospital overnight. This has clearly shaken Mrs.Parker. Resulting from
this O.T. have been out to access for hand-rails etc. Mr. Parker is now unable to manage a
very large garden and Mrs. Parker would like help with her house-work They are both in their
mid 80's.I continue to visit and she is now applying for a Carer's Allowance. .
16
20 June - Visit to DISC in Cirencester and their Day Centre
Computer and office time
21 June - Virtual Team Meeting at Westcote House, Cirencester
Office,computer and phone calls
23 June - The Duntisbournes Village Fete
25 June - Duntisbourne Abbotts
Also visit to Anchor in Cirencester
27 June - Meeting with District Nurses - Westcote House, Cirencester
Office time
28 June - GRCC Monthly Meeting, Community House
Diary for July - Pauline Thompson
Many people seemed to be away in July and the weather being so bad at the latter end of the
month hibernated!
On July 2nd. WPC Andrea Shutt came to visit me at home to discuss her Communities Officer
Role. It was very interesting to speak with her and to discuss ideas and thoughts about
village life. I know she will be a very useful person to be in contact with.
On July 3rd I did a familiarization visit to both Edgeworth and Sapperton and displayed my
posters. I have also been in touch with the Parish Clerks of both.
On July 4th I attended a Macular Degeneration Meeting at The Quakers Hall in Cirencester as
some of my clients from the country attend. It was a good get together for people with failing
sight.
On July 10th I visited Mrs. Vanda Joinson in Cirencester who needs continuing support after
her bereavement. Also I visited Winstone and went to see Mr. Williams who lives alone and
unable to get out and also visited Mrs. Celia Fitzpatrick whose husband had a very bad stroke
last year.
I attended Sapperton Parish Council on July 10th which was held in Frampton Mansell. I was
asked to give a short talk on the role of the Village Agent. It was well received. On July 11th I
attended the Meeting at Aldsworth Village Hall to discuss Parish Networking and CDC Playful
Ideas.
On July 16th I attended an 'Investors in People' meeting at Community House. On July 17th I
distributed more posters in Sapperton.
On the 18th picked up new leaflets from Anchor in Cirencester.
On the 19th July Cynthia Laird and myself visited The Mobility Show at Kemble which was
huge. We picked up lots of ideas and contacts for folks who have mobility problems.
On July 20th the floods came but very luckily in this part of the Cotswolds we were virtually
unaffected. I made calls to all of my village contacts to make sure there were no problems
that I could help with. I continued to do this over the next days.
On the 24th I drove around all of my villages to check on conditions.On the same evening I
attended The Duntisbournes Parish Council and again gave a short talk.
On July 30th I delivered individual tent cards to a bungalow cluster in Sapperton. On July
31st l went to a Virtual Team Meeting at Westcote House and there was a good attendance.
17
Diary for Sue Black
The meeting at Highman on 5 September was really interesting, as usual. I was
particularly interested to learn more about the Barnwood House Trust and the good
that they do in supporting disabled people in the community. It’s a shame really that
the good that these kinds of organisations do for those who need help is not more
widely known or talked about. The news and newspapers are full of horror stories of
theft, murder, con men, people being abused, the list is endless and very
disheartening – maybe everyone needs to hear more about organisations such as
the Barnwood House Trust in order to know that there are people out there who want
to help and who do so in the most practical way possible by financing something that
they could not afford otherwise, just to redress the balance a little!
Its now the middle of September and I have just been recapping over events
recorded earlier in the diary this month and will now recount updates as they have
occurred.
The visit to go to Mr T is now scheduled for Tuesday, 25 September and I will record
in my diary the outcome of that meeting when it has taken place.
I noted earlier in my diary that I had approached the Practice Manager regarding
doctors making referrals to me in cases where they felt I could be of benefit to their
patients. Also as noted earlier, I had not heard back from the Practice Manager so
was wondering about making a call to jog his memory or to see whether it had been
considered a good idea. However, referrals seem to have started, albeit slowly, to
filter through so I will leave that alone at this stage – I can always revisit it in the
future.
Re Tai Chi classes that I set up in Quenington, I was able to establish that
approximately ten people attend regularly.
I also referred earlier in the diary to two people in the village of Aldsworth who were
troubled about the regularity of “tourist” coaches that were travelling through the
village and they asked me what I could do to help. I duly got in touch with Highways
at Gloucestershire County Council who referred me to a Jenny Watkins at their
Cirencester depot. Ms Watkins basically told me that queries or concerns of this
nature must be channelled through the Parish Council in the form of a letter before
they would consider taking any appropriate action. She also said it would be helpful
to know how often the coach travelled through the village, whether it was just one
coach company, whether it was local and to find out the name/names of the relevant
coach companies so that Highways had an overview of the pattern of movement in
the village.
I duly went back to the couple in question and relayed all the above and they will take
this up with their Parish Council. I judged that at this stage no further involvement
was needed from me as the couple in question are more than capable of pursuing
the matter without my assistance but I did ask the couple to keep me informed and
come back to me at any stage if they needed my support and they were happy to do
this.
18
I have tried, without success, to make contact with the flood victim from Aldsworth
who approached me regarding possible financial support. I will keep trying and keep
diary updated on progress.
Last week I went to see the Parish Councillor in Meysey Hampton. This Parish
Councillor lives on Greenacres Park which is the mobile home park I have referred to
earlier which is only eligible for those over 55 years of age and she has been
instrumental in introducing me into the village. We are going to distribute flyers and
Jo (Parish Councillor ) has made the suggestion that her contact details are also on
the flyer so that people can check out the service with her first if they so wish as she
is known to all the residents on the park. This way we will also be able to gauge the
initial first response. So flyers will be distributed next week and I will keep the diary
updated on the response I get. However, meanwhile Jo has delivered a lot of Village
Agent leaflets throughout the park.
I also last week went to see a resident on Greenacres Park. She is a lady of 68
years who is suffering degenerative back problems and is need of some support
around her home, ie help to get in and out of bath etc. However, it transpires that
this lady does not receive pension credit so I have arranged for a representative of
the Pension Service to make a home visit so that it can be established if she is
eligible. When we know that we can progress with the other referrals and get the ball
rolling.
I also referred earlier in the diary to a problem that is being experienced by Fosseway
residents whereby the car parking space which is allocated for their sole use it seems
rogue car parking is taking place whereby one family (non Fosseway residents) are
parking 5 cars at a time (!) with the obvious knock on effect that the Fosseway
tenants cannot park their cars.
This has been an ongoing problem for a while and it has been difficult to get a
definitive response from Fosseway on this. However, I am pleased to report that a
new representative from Fosseway has now visited the site and is in the process of
checking the deeds and, having undertaken that process, will be writing to both
tenants and non-tenants alike upon her findings. I am really pleased that something
is being done at last because it is causing upset to the tenants and the situation
needs to be resolved. I will keep diary posted on outcome as the representative has
promised she will get back to me on her findings.
I also got a call last week from Good Morning Gloucestershire who wanted me to visit
a client of theirs in Southrop and I duly went to visit this lady last week. It was difficult
– she was a heavy smoker – but fortunately her son was there and he asked her to
stop which was a relief! This lady is just 80 years of age and although she owns her
own home she is not in a position financially to pay for structural support that the
house requires. It seems the chimney stack is in need of work. We also discussed
getting in place an EPA before the deadline of 1 October and because time is short, I
gave the son the appropriate website address and he will download EPA form and
arrange for it to be completed before deadline date. I then checked with Kate at
GRCC as the appropriate person to speak to with regard to possible assistance with
structural repairs to the house and Kate recommended CDC. I duly spoke to Gary
Packer who says that as long as client is receiving pension credit then he will be able
to go out and make an inspection. Relayed this information to the son and he is
going to check that his mother receives pension credit (this could not be definitively
established at the time of my visit) and let me know. As soon as I have that
information I can then make referral to Gary Packer and the ball can start rolling.
19
Continuation Diary OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2007
I cannot believe the time that has elapsed since my last diary entry. Naturally, events
have occurred throughout this time and so I will update the diary as best I can.
Firstly, I mentioned earlier in the diary about my impending visit to Mr Raymond
Theodolou, County Councillor who had contacted me following the flooding in his
village of Quenington. It was a visit really I think for Mr Theodolou to touch base with
me on the problems of flooding (which he thought was a freak accident in his village,
which would probably never happen again) and also the role of Village Agent
generally and specifically. I welcomed the opportunity of meeting Mr Theodolou and
also being given the opportunity of expanding the role of Village Agent. Another
positive network I think.
Whilst on the subject of flooding and referring to a previous entry in the diary
regarding the unsuccessful attempt to contact a flood victim in Aldsworth and
particularly following the meeting at GRCC with Kate and other Village Agents when
Kate confirmed that flood funds were still available for affected people, I again tried to
contact this lady but again without success. She doesn’t return my calls. I will give it
one more go and so will report later in diary on whether I have been successful or
not.
Again, referring to a previous entry in the diary, regarding rogue parking at
Quenington, I am glad to report that Fosseway have now personally written to all the
people who were parking illegally in the car park at the Fosseway bungalows and so
hopefully this problem is now at an end. I will test the water shortly by ringing one of
the Fosseway bungalow residents to see if the rogue parking has now stopped.
I also reported on getting the role of Village Agent known at Greenacres Park (mobile
homes for 55+). In order to do this effectively I was ably assisted by Jo, Parish
Councillor at Meysey Hampton, and who also lives at Greenacres, and who
distributed flyers for me around the Park. No feedback unfortunately but at least
people know I am there and the role I perform so when they have a need they know
where to come. However, having said that, I was contacted by a gentleman who
lives at the Park (aged 94 years) who is truly amazing for his age and I visit him on a
regular basis. He is agile, both physically and mentally, and it is reassuring to meet
somebody of that age with such agility. His only problem is loneliness but he will not
attend clubs or activities because he said that everyone who attends these clubs
tend to focus on their health problems which he finds boring, not being in that
unenviable situation himself!
I also have some feedback from the son of the lady I visited in Southrop and I am
pleased to report that everything I sent referrals for is being actioned. Gary Packer,
or a representative from CDC, is on the case re the damaged chimney, and
generally, as I said, everything is falling into place for this lady and she is very
pleased. I will report back to Joanne at Good Morning Gloucestershire to keep them
in the frame.
I note that I have not recorded in the diary a call I took from a village lady from
Hatherop who was complaining about the speeding when cars were exiting the
village. I duly took up the cudgels and made a referral to Les Hughes, CDC who got
in touch with the two schools in the village and there was a marked improvement
following Les’ request that the school alert the parents to the problem. However, on
checking with the lady in question it seems that there is still a problem, though not so
20
bad, so, after talking to Les, I need to speak to the Community Support Officer in
Fairford to give him a nudge re the problem. I will report back to the diary on the
outcome following this.
I have also been supporting a lady in Aldsworth – she is house bound, but with an
indomitable spirit and it is a joy to visit her and help where I can. She is overjoyed at
the moment because she is being re-housed in a bungalow in Aldsworth and for the
first time for years she will be able to sleep in a bedroom rather than having to have a
bed in her living room as she has been unable to get upstairs for years. This is great
news and I am due to visit her in her new home shortly.
I attended a Village Agent meeting at GRCC on 7 November which covered a topic of
subjects which is always invaluable. Frank Scriven of GRCC also attended at the
meeting and gave a very interesting talk on the various projects he is running. I was
really impressed at what opportunities these projects can provide to people in the
community.
I also want to take the opportunity of talking here about the referrals. Although I am
very glad to report that all the referrals in respect of the lady in Southrop have been
attended to, there have been occasions in the past where I have phoned clients to
check that they have heard, following my referral, only to be told that “no, heard
nothing yet.” Although I realise the services that provide the support and help are
stretched, nevertheless it does not inspire confidence to those who we are trying so
hard to provide the help to.
I have recently been giving some time and thought to providing some kind of event to
celebrate Christmas and with that in mind I am delighted to report that I have sourced
the services of a local church in Fairford who are prepared to open their church on a
weekday so that I can take the older people in my villages who would enjoy attending
a Carol Concert. This church are opening their doors solely to provide this wonderful
event for our enjoyment and, to top it all, are also providing light refreshment at the
end of the Carol Concert. They have also said that if my numbers are low this is not
a problem, they will “pad out” the event with some of their own parishioners to ensure
that a truly wonderful afternoon can be enjoyed by all. I am so delighted and grateful
for this truly kind gesture which gives the proper meaning to Christmas. I have
pencilled in Wednesday, 19 December and am now in the process of sorting out
transport and getting numbers of those who would be interested in coming. I
propose to deliver flyers to all my villages and hope to get a good response. I will
keep the diary posted.
21
Village Agent Diary- November 5th 2007
Lou Kemp
9.30 am- Started off my day checking emails and making some follow up referral
calls. This was the first day for many months that there was nothing in my diary, so I
was really pleased to receive a telephone call from an elderly gentleman Mr B, who I
had met when I first took on this role of Village Agent. He needed the number of a
reputable plumber, and so I contacted Care & Repair in Stroud. Mr B, like quite a
number of the people I meet, is a very independent and vibrant gentleman in his late
80’s. He was very pleased to get the information he needed and I used the opportunity
of the call to ask if I could visit him as we hadn’t seen each other for 6 months and I’d
heard through the grapevine that he’d recently had a fall. I find that the informality of
the role of “Village Agent” allows me to make these home visits which allow me to
inform the client of what is available to them to make living at home, safer, more
comfortable and possibly give information on monies which they hadn’t realised were
their entitlement. It also is all part of increasing the networking which has taken off in
the last few months.
My phone rang again; this time it was a gentleman who had kept my parish magazine
article from some months back and wanted to know if there was any help available to
repair a toilet cistern. Mr S lived in the same village as Mr B so I arranged to do a
home visit later in the day.
11 am- Visit Mr B- his home is a substantial house with much evidence of what might
be classed as “asset rich/cash poor”. The small kitchen where we sat has a warming
original aga and the décor like the rest of the house looks as though it may not been
updated since the 60’s.I use the opportunity of this meeting to let Mr B know how
I’ve been getting on as Village Agent in the last year so he had the information I felt
might be useful to him in a subtle way which would allow him to follow up if he
wanted to.
12pm- Mr & Mrs SMr S has had a replacement knee joint and is waiting for second .Both he and his wife
are in their late 70’s and have always had the mobility and capability to maintain their
home. Now through joint pain and the general fear of falling and becoming more
incapacitated they need to know what help is available. Financially they are able to
pay for the work required but are anxious to be referred to reputable tradesmen.
By the end of the visit, I had made a referral to Care & Repair, arranged a Home
Safety check (the electrics were all very old), agreed to look into what grants were
available for re-wiring. I arranged Warm Front to send the information required for
loft insulation and contacted the pensions department to arrange a visit to discuss if
Mr S was eligible for Attendance Allowance.
1.30pm- Called in on Mr S’s neighbour; the local vicar. The Rev W had been very
helpful when I first took on this village and invited me to the LMT (local ministry
team) meeting. As it transpired her husband was in recovery following some radical
cancer treatment. We discussed some of the possible adaptations which might be
available to help him around the home such as hand rails and putting in a shower to
replace the bath. Mr W is not ready to face such changes yet but his wife was relieved
to know what was out there if the time came when he agreed to be assessed.
She asked what was available for help for loft insulation and I made my second
referral of the day to Warm Front.
22
2pm- Follow up call to Mr & Mrs K, two weeks after first visit. Mr K is suffering
from dementia and has recently finished treatment for cancer, and I had made 6
different referrals for them both. Similar to the previous visit this couple had
reasonable financial support available to them but needed help in repairs and
maintenance to the home. There was also the rapidly deteriorating health of Mr K to
consider and the support needed for his wife. She was being investigated for a rapid
weight loss which was causing concern, but was possibly stress induced. They had
two children; a daughter who is moving to America and a son of 49 who lives in
Somerset and is severely mentally handicapped. He visits once a month and has
mobility issues with stairs and baths. The previous visit he’d had a bad fall down the
stairs and they required an OT visit to assess his needs and his father’s.
So far they’d not heard from any of the agencies.
3pm-Home to write up and send off gateway referral forms.
What a great day!
Case Study – August 2007
On my return from holiday I picked up a message from a daughter who
wanted my help. Her mother was due out of hospital shortly and she wanted
to know what was available to help her mother. I immediately telephoned her
and we discussed what services were available. The daughter had already
accessed social services’ support in respect of allowances and also in respect
of Homecare so the wheels were already in motion in that regard. The
daughter had also arranged for Wiltshire Farm Foods to supply ready meals
for her mother. The items however that she did need support for with regard
to her mother’s garden, some domestic help and access to a wheelchair. It
was left that I would arrange referrals for all these items. The daughter also
confirmed that her mother was due to be discharged from hospital that very
day and that she would get back to me if she needed any further support.
The next day I received a call from the District Nurses at the Fairford Surgery.
They explained that they had a patient who had just been discharged from
hospital who urgently needed a table top freezer in which to store frozen
meals and they wondered if I could expedite a grant in order to purchase this
item as the family did not have the necessary funds. They explained that this
lady was a palliative care patient who only had 6-8 weeks to live and therefore
this matter was very urgent. I said I would see what I could do and asked for
details of this lady. It soon became clear to me that this lady was the very
same lady to whose daughter I had spoken the day before. I mentioned this
to the District Nurse and she said she did not think that the family were aware
at this stage that the mother had only a short time to live. Again, I told the
District Nurse I would see what I could do. I was therefore being presented
with a delicate situation. I needed to urgently get help to the family in order to
23
secure the grant but without the possibility of disclosing the reason to the
family for the extreme urgency. I therefore immediately rang Cirencester
Benefit office and explained the situation and they said they would pull strings
their end and get back to me. Within half an hour Cirencester Benefit office
rang me to tell me that one of their officers would be calling on the family in
the morning in order to sort out this particular issue and obviously any others.
I in turn immediately rang the District Nurse and relayed this information to
them and they were very relieved that the matter had been actioned so
quickly.
I am recounting this story in such detail because it touches so many areas.
Of course the most immediate area it touches is that of such compassion for
this poor family in their tragic circumstances. But after acknowledging that
and then stepping away from that what it then reveals is how vitally important
is the role of Village Agent because they are the pivotal force from which all
information and support can flow. Because the District Nurses knew of my
existence and the role the Village Agent undertakes they were able to contact
me and I in turn was able to then contact the Benefit office and so within the
space of a day the client’s needs were immediately taken care of. I think that
is excellent and as such truly reflects the value of the role of the Village Agent.
I have today spoken to a number of my clients on the telephone who I had not
been able to contact since the floods to check that they were all okay - which
they were. I have to say that my area has not suffered too badly. But the
reason particularly for mentioning this is what it highlighted to me - which is
that when I speak to some clients (particularly those who live alone) it is
immediately obvious how important that contact is to them. They might not
always be as aware of this as I am but it is crystal clear to me that for them to
be able to speak to someone who has the time to listen and who understands
their concerns performs a vital service. Again, this level of support is vital and
again emphasises the importance of the role undertaken by the Village Agent.
SC4
Sue Black
Case History
Whilst our remit as a Village Agent is to offer help to anyone over fifty, most of our
clients are usually retired and elderly, but once in a while we get the opportunity to be
useful in a different way. Mike (not his real name) is such a case.
Mike was referred to me by the local Police Community Support Officer, as someone
who was unemployed and desperately short of money; could I help with benefits
advice etc. A long talk over a cup of coffee revealed the sad story that Mike’s wife
had been killed in a terrible road accident nine months ago, leaving Mike with an
24
eleven year old daughter. A combination of grief and being unable to return to his old
job as a lorry driver because of the hours involved, meant that he had been home ever
since and was now selling household items to keep his head above water. He was
finding life very difficult and couldn’t see a way out because of needing to be there
for his child. On top of this, his car tax and insurance were due for renewal, he had no
money to pay for them and being in a very rural community, without a car or public
transport his chances of finding any kind of work locally were almost nil.
The most pressing need was to get his benefits checked and try to keep his car on the
road. A financial assessment was done and, on finding out that he was ex-army, I
approached the British Legion to see if they would help regarding his car. Jane, my
contact, was extremely helpful and arranged payment of the bills plus covering a gas
bill that had just arrived.
I believed that Mike was a ‘one-off’ in the sense that, whilst a tragedy had occurred in
his life, if I could find a way to get him back to work, he would need no more help. I
decided to look into possible part-time employment through driver agencies, but first
contacted the lone Parent Adviser at the local Job Centre to ensure that in taking a job,
he would not end up worse off than he was already. Having approached several driver
agencies, I learned of a part-time job which seemed ideal but having got Mike and the
owner of the agency together, we discovered that Mike didn’t have the necessary
qualifications. It was explained to me that articulated lorry drivers – which is what the
post needed - are ‘top of the tree’ and can more or less dictate their own employment
conditions so this was the next challenge, to try and upgrade his certificates! I talked
to the British Legion again and discovered that they have a re-training fund. With
Jane’s help, we applied and were granted the cost of the training and examination. We
also kept in touch with the driver agency about the part-time vacancy as the starting
time was 11am, giving Mike time to take his daughter to school before work.
Although the finishing time was as late as 9pm, she could go to her grandmothers
after school, so it was imperative to try to keep this opportunity open.
Last week Mike finally took the exam and passed. Within hours, the job was
confirmed and he started work this Monday. We have also contacted the Lone Parent
Adviser again to ensure he takes full advantage of ‘back to work’ working tax credits
etc.
It’s been a long road, but being told by Mike ‘I couldn’t have done it without you’ has
made it very worthwhile. Knowing you have turned someone’s life around is a very
special bonus.
CASE STUDY TW4/10
Elsie telephoned me and said that she would like some help with understanding a
letter from Tewkesbury Borough Council and also one concerning her late husband’s
mobility aids.
1. I visited Elsie on 26 June at home. The letter from the council was in response to
her informing them that her son had moved back to live with her. It was not clear
what, if any, effect this would have on her council tax payments.
What Happened
25
I rang the Council and confirmed that the letter meant that there was no change to her
payments.
2. Elsie was also concerned about a letter from Gloucester Community Equipment
Service. Her late husband had had loaned to him bedrails, a toilet frame and a walker
trolley – all of which Elsie had made use of to assist her mobility and safety around
the house. Although the letter was very much a standard “if these are no longer
required send them back” she was concerned that she was not entitled to them and had
to return them, but they had become necessities.
What Happened
I spoke to the Adult help desk at Gloucestershire County Council. They contacted the
original occupational therapist to see if she could keep the items. It was agreed that
Elsie should have her own assessment for needs. This was arranged by the Help desk;
the OT visited Elsie and agreed that they could be kept as they addressed her needs.
3. During the course of our conversations about finances and discussing whether Elsie
was entitled to any benefits – she was in receipt of Attendance Allowance and pension
credit – I noticed that she was paying tax at Basic Rate (22%) on all of her small
widows pension. I investigated further and thought that she still had some unused
Personal Allowance to set against this income, which would reduce the tax. I also
thought that she might be able to claim back tax overpaid in the tax year to April
2007.
What Happened
I rang the tax office and they changed her tax code to 220Y immediately, to reduce
the tax deducted from then on. I wrote a couple of letters, for Elsie to sign, requesting
a reassessment of tax paid in the previous tax year and providing the necessary
documents. Elsie was delighted to receive a cheque for £550.66 o/a overpayment and
her monthly widow’s pension has gone up by £41 as a result of the correct tax code.
Elsie was very appreciative of the assistance I offered. In particular she had no idea
about income tax and what she should be paying. Although sorting out this situation
took a number of visits, phone calls and letters, it just shows how looking at the
overall picture can reveal benefit that was not the original request. This was only
possible because Elsie gained a confidence in me. We have become good friends.
CASE STUDY TEWKESBURY BOROUGH
Richard Lee
Georgina contacted me after meeting at a lunch club. She is 87 and quite frail; she
lives on her own, but is very lively. I visited her on 14 June and she wanted to talk
about insulation, as she had just paid for a new boiler but thought there was little if
any insulation in the loft. We had a good chat and she was happy to share some details
of her finances with me. I was surprised that she only received a basic state pension
of about £88 per week and a small widows pension from her late husband’s employer.
26
My first contact was to Warm and Well and they sent a surveyor to view the
insulation. He said it should be done but Tewkesbury Borough Council had no funds
until April 2008, and she didn’t qualify for any other help as she was not in receipt of
any qualifying benefits. She could have it done and pay about £200 now or wait. She
decided that having just spent £3500 on her boiler she had better wait.
On a number of further visits, we discussed her finances further. She was using her
small savings to subsidise her day to day living. We agreed that I should put a referral
in to the Benefits Agency to see if she was entitled to anything else.
What Happened
The Benefits Agency visited very quickly and over a couple of visits helped Georgina
with Pension Credit, and Attendance Allowance, claims. In August she heard that she
had been awarded the higher rate of Attendance Allowance (£64.50) backdated to
July (£258). In September she heard that she had been awarded Pension Credit of
£48.02 per week, backdated to the previous year (£840).
Georgina could not believe it and apart from being worried that she was not entitled to
the Attendance Allowance (“I don’t need help”) she was so grateful to me – “without
you I wouldn’t have known anything about this, and would have run out of savings”.
But there is more! Because Georgina now receives a qualifying benefit, she no
longer pays Council Tax which had been £116 per month, and last week her
insulation – loft and cavity wall – was carried out at no charge!
As I said, Georgina is so grateful for everything and we are now firm friends, and she
and I meet regularly. Her weekly payments from State entitlement have increased
from £88 to £202 and she is also £116 per month better off as she has Council tax
benefit.
PS – she won £50 on a premium bond as well!!
.
CASE STUDY TEWKESBURY BOROUGH
Georgina contacted me after meeting at a lunch club. She is 87 and quite frail; she
lives on her own, but is very lively. I visited her on 14 June and she wanted to talk
about insulation, as she had just paid for a new boiler but thought there was little if
any insulation in the loft. We had a good chat and she was happy to share some details
of her finances with me. I was surprised that she only received a basic state pension
of about £88 per week and a small widows pension from her late husband’s employer.
My first contact was to Warm and Well and they sent a surveyor to view the
insulation. He said it should be done but Tewkesbury Borough Council had no funds
until April 2008, and she didn’t qualify for any other help as she was not in receipt of
27
any qualifying benefits. She could have it done and pay about £200 now or wait. She
decided that having just spent £3500 on her boiler she had better wait.
On a number of further visits, we discussed her finances further. She was using her
small savings to subsidise her day to day living. We agreed that I should put a referral
in to the Benefits Agency to see if she was entitled to anything else.
What Happened
The Benefits Agency visited very quickly and over a couple of visits helped Georgina
with Pension Credit, and Attendance Allowance, claims. In August she heard that she
had been awarded the higher rate of Attendance Allowance (£64.50) backdated to
July (£258). In September she heard that she had been awarded Pension Credit of
£48.02 per week, backdated to the previous year (£840).
Georgina could not believe it and apart from being worried that she was not entitled to
the Attendance Allowance (“I don’t need help”) she was so grateful to me – “without
you I wouldn’t have known anything about this, and would have run out of savings”.
But there is more! Because Georgina now receives a qualifying benefit, she no
longer pays Council Tax which had been £116 per month, and last week her
insulation – loft and cavity wall – was carried out at no charge!
As I said, Georgina is so grateful for everything and we are now firm friends, and she
and I meet regularly. Her weekly payments from State entitlement have increased
from £88 to £202 and she is also £116 per month better off as she has Council tax
benefit.
PS – she won £50 on a premium bond as well!!
Case Study – Mrs. B.
VA: Claire Manigrasso
I was referred a client, whom it seemed has a various needs; in her early 80’s.
She had not contacted me herself; however, she was referred by a village
contact, who knows a lot of the villagers and does a lot of voluntary work.
I duly phoned client and make an initial appointment to visit her. She did
initially seemed quite reserved but soon relaxed in my company; visit was
over 1½ hours to 2 hours; when we chatted generally (whilst I was gathering
information) and she showed me round the bungalow and garden.
Mrs. B. does know a few other people around the village but has chosen not
to join the local monthly social group. She did appear rather reserved; also
reluctant to ask for help. She was widowed approximately a year ago and is,
28
naturally, grieving the loss of her husband, whom she had cared for over
many years whilst he was ill.
She actually moved over to Gloucestershire with her husband many years
ago, when he was looking for work. They had no children and client
therefore, has no close relatives; distant ones living across the UK and no
relatives now living in her area.
She has, however, remained in touch with her late husband’s carer, who visits
and generally supports her, shopping for her when she can. She is no longer
officially working for the client but they have remained friends. This resulted
in the fact that client could no longer find a cleaner, as the former carer was
busy with her paid work with her agency. The client’s own mobility is poor
and she was needing help with the heavier type of housework, such as
bending to clean the bath, moving furniture for hovering, and gardening. She
does now have a more easily-maintained garden with pots, gravel etc.
Had had various other concerns, such as getting her garden shed replaced;
concerns about getting someone to do small repairs and/or decorating should
she need it.
At time of my visit bungalow appeared in good order, garden shed quite solid
construction and house very clean and tidy.
Client often appears a little vague about various facts and welcomed my offer
to let me look through her correspondence form the Council and Dept. of
Work & Pensions. She did tell me she was already getting help re. her
Council Tax; I also was able to ascertain from her correspondence that she is
indeed in receipt of Attendance Allowance due to her restricted mobility and
general discomfort – plus Pension Credit.
I did – with her permission – refer her to various sources of help including
CRUSE bereavement, as she did appear depressed; also Anchor for repairs.
I asked whether she or her husband had served in the Forces and she said
that her husband was in the Forces – and that she was already in contact with
the British Legion. I contacted them anyway to remind them client may need
a chat with them and some more support.
Her GP is some distance away, located in a small town. She, therefore, relies
on her late husband’s former carer for lifts for this. She has on occasions
made use of a volunteer transport service in Tewkesbury.
Although she had declined joining the local residents’ group, she does appear
somewhat lonely and isolated, although has a couple of local friends she sees
from time to time, but no-one on a daily basis. I suggested she might benefit
from a befriender from a voluntary organisation or Age Concern – and
referred her to the latter. I also referred her on to Age Concern re. their
domestic services.
29
As things turned out, I followed up Mrs. B. on a regular basis. It became
apparent she could only deal with one thing/source of help at a time. Her
main priority became the prospect of finding a cleaner and on this occasion
this was the only time she actually phoned me for help. I found that at the
time AG were unable to provide anyone in the client’s area. I duly acquired
the list of approved home care/domestic agencies and arranged another visit
with the intention of calling several of this myself in the client’s presence. I
duly visited her – and she then informed me she had found a cleaner. She
had been recommended a local lady running a private business via her late
husband’s carer seeing a notice in local newsagents in a nearby village,
making enquiries for her etc.
I followed this up with the client and it turned out she was very happy with the
new cleaner – and I was then actually able to contact the cleaner myself, who
was then able to fit in a few more clients of mine on the days that she was in
the area.
On later visits I found out more about Mrs. B. and that she had been
contacted by other referring agencies and refused immediate help from these.
I formed the opinion that she is better having regular contact with me with
regard to possible other help at a later stage. I have found she is generally
reluctant to call me herself; on one occasion she had received a form in the
post she didn’t understand; also when she needed a lift to her GP.
One follow-up call I made was on the news I had heard re. The issue of
getting a bus pass renewal: that she was going to have to get digital photos
taken and get to the Council Offices. However, it turned out that the former
carer/friend had taken her there.
Therefore, I have found the regular contact beneficial and client appears to
appreciate this so that issues can be dealt with in turn as they ‘come up’. I am
then usually available to call on her to look at any correspondence from the
DWP etc.
I did receive a call some months ago from the Helpdesk suggested I get Mrs.
B. re-assessed by Social Services. I arranged another visit with her when I
suggested this to her, re-assuring her that this could be of some help to her,
as the rails, fixtures etc. had initially been fitted for the use of her late
husband.
She declined this. I did on this occasion spend another 1½ hours with her
and she showed me around the bungalow and the garden, etc. (which I had
seen on my initial visit).
Mrs. B. was lucky not to have suffered in the floods of July. She was provided
with regular bottles of water from village volunteers – and I merely took away
her old water bottles for disposal.
Regular contact with client still being maintained.
30
This is a specialised Village Agent report, whereby this particular village agent
arranged a mini-bus trip to Staunton Garden Centre for Christmas shopping
picking up passengers around the parishes of Hasfield, Tirley and Ashleworth.
Village Agent Report
MINIBUS MINI-TRIP
I am running a mini-trip for the over 50’s on the
Tirley Community Minibus
to Staunton Garden Centre
on Tuesday 11th December.
I will be picking up passengers around the Parishes of
Hasfield, Tirley and Ashleworth between 10.00 - 10.30
a.m., driving to Staunton Garden Centre where you will be
served tea/coffee and cake,
and have time to do some
Christmas shopping
before being returned home.
The cost of this trip will be £6, inclusive of refreshments.
If you would like to book a seat, please call me on
07810 630244
Jane Griffiths
Village Agent
31
The following examples are some of the narratives village agents and older
people are giving as a result of extreme flooding in the Gloucestershire area
over the summer months. These narratives give an idea of how valuable the
village agents were at this time. The support given by village agents is
continuing and will be monitored throughout the interim reports. An analysis
and evaluation of this support will be made in any evaluation and final reports.
FLOODING STORIES
“VILLAGE AGENTS WERE THE GLUE THAT KEPT THINGS RUNNING
SMOOTHLY” quote
VILLAGE AGENTS IN FLOOD
STRICKEN AREAS OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE
A GENERAL OVERVIEW
During the floods of July 2007 Village Agents across Gloucestershire have
been assisting their communities in numerous ways, listed below are a few of
the ways in which Village Agents have been helping out. This list is by no
means exhaustive but details the most common areas of assistance.

Making sure older people have water and are heeding the advice of the
authorities with regards to personal health

Finding out about the locations of bowsers and laundrettes in the
locality

Assisting communities in arranging for bowsers to be delivered and
replenished
32


Phoning round to key contacts in the villages giving out the county
council emergency helpline number
Delivering milk and bread and other staple goods

Over the weekend some have been getting involved in working parties
to distribute water and this is continuing

Offering help to other parts of the county, those with 4 x 4’s and plenty
of water are willing to go where necessary
General ringing round to their existing clients to make sure that everything is
okay on a daily basis
Dairies which focus on assistance given during actual Flooding
Les Haines Cotswold District Council
GLOUCESTERSHIRE FLOODING 2007
In the last few weeks of July and into early August
2007 flooding in Gloucestershire devestated a
number of areas across the county. Village Agents in those areas assisted
their communities in any way that they could. Below are diaries and a case
study written by Village Agents over the period of the floods, all in different
districts but highlighing the impact on all of the surrounding areas.
A VERY WET WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A VILLAGE AGENT – JANE
GRIFFITHS TEWKSBURY BOROUGH
My diary for the week read:
Monday
7.30pm
Maisemore Parish Council Meeting
Tuesday
1.30pm
Village Agent meeting Gloucester
Tuesday
6.00pm
Police Neighbourhood Co-ordination meeting,
Innsworth
Wednesday 6.00pm
Police Neighbourhood Co-ordination meeting,
Tewkesbury Borough Council Offices
Thursday
2.00pm
Maisemore Friendship Group 10th Anniversary
Celebrations,
As you can imagine, the reality was rather different!
Monday: Checked around my parishes by phone to see where I could be of
most practical help, and how everyone was coping. Two of my parishes,
Sandhurst and Chaceley, were severely affected by the flooding, and while I
33
offered support, they were beyond anything I could do at that time. I imagine
my services will be more in demand at a later date, when the immediate
situation has been alleviated, and residents will be looking for answers to
questions about insurance, housing, grants, council services etc. Ashleworth,
Maisemore and Hasfield were relatively unscathed, all retaining their water
supply throughout the crisis. Tirley, on the other hand, lost their supply, and
were pretty well cut off from civilisation. I spoke to some of my contacts in
Tirley, and promised practical help to get water to the elderly as soon as the
first delivery arrived.
Tuesday: Ascertained likely time of first water delivery, so drove to Tirley,
calling in at one of my clients on the way to drop off some basic necessities.
Arrived at the Village Hall where a group of villagers were awaiting the arrival
of the water delivery. As soon as it arrived, we all formed a human chain, and
soon got it stacked up in the Village Hall. I even roped in two of my sons to
help. Once the water was safely stored, I made a list of the elderly and others
who would have difficulty getting their own supplies, loaded up my car and set
off on my ‘water round’. I know the circumstances were far from ideal, but I
made a lot of new contacts and gained useful knowledge of where people
were particularly in need, for future reference.
Wednesday: I received a call that a local hotel landlady, who still had a water
supply, was keeping rooms open for people to go and shower. I relayed this
information to some of my contacts in Tirley, produced some posters to
display the information, and also some flyers with this information and the
offer of help with shopping for necessities during the crisis.
Thursday: Another day, another delivery of water (two tons of the stuff) to
unload and deliver, along with my leaflets and some bread which I had been
to the local bakery to collect first thing. Picked up a shopping order to deliver
later. A dreadful day, weatherwise, so was very grateful for a cup of tea back
at the Village Hall. I was rather concerned about one elderly gentleman that I
called on, as he hadn’t been getting his meals on wheels this week. His
neighbour promised to keep an eye on him, and I made a mental note to
check up on him at the beginning of the next week. Managed to fit in a home
visit to discuss tax credits during the day, but otherwise, normal business
suspended for the moment.
Friday: Back at my other job, but clutching my GRCC phone, as I have been
asked to take part in a feature on how Village Agents are helping during this
emergency, with Mike George on Radio Glos, along with Barbara Piranty.
This takes place at 2.30pm. I am a bit nervous, but it seems to go very well,
and later that afternoon, I receive a call from Barbara, who has been
contacted by a lady who heard the interview and is dreadfully worried about
her friends in Tirley who are flooded out, but refused to leave their home. I
manage to track down some information about them and find out that they are
ok, but unfortunately, the lady gave Barbara an incorrect phone number, so
despite our best efforts, we were unable to pass this on. Also following on
34
from the radio feature, I get a phone call from a lady in Maisemore who is very
keen to help out in some way. I take her contact details and promise to get
back in touch when I know what further help is needed.
So we get to the end of a very strange week. This is obviously an ongoing
situation which will continue to affect people for some considerable time. The
water has returned to the taps, although not suitable for drinking. I am
returning to Tirley next week to check on the situation, and will re-visit all the
people I called on, checking that everything is fine, and also offering to take
their empty plastic water bottles to be recycled.
A very wet week in the life of a Village Agent – the floods of 2007
My diary for the week read:
Monday
Tuesday
Tuesday
meeting,
Wednesday
meeting,
Thursday
Anniversary
7.30pm
1.30pm
6.00pm
Maisemore Parish Council Meeting
Village Agent area meeting, Gloucester
Police Neighbourhood Co-ordination
6.00pm
Innsworth
Police Neighbourhood Co-ordination
2.00pm
Tewkesbury Borough Council Offices
Maisemore Friendship Group 10th
Celebrations, Maisemore
As you can imagine, the reality was rather different!
Monday: Checked around my parishes by phone to see where I could be of
most practical help, and how everyone was coping. Two of my parishes,
Sandhurst and Chaceley, were severely affected by the flooding, and while I
offered support, they were beyond anything I could do at that time. I imagine
my services will be more in demand at a later date, when the immediate
situation has been alleviated, and residents will be looking for answers to
questions about insurance, housing, grants, council services etc. Ashleworth,
Maisemore and Hasfield were relatively unscathed, all retaining their water
supply throughout the crisis. Tirley, on the other hand, lost their supply, and
were pretty well cut off from civilisation. I spoke to some of my contacts in
Tirley, and promised practical help to get water to the elderly as soon as the
first delivery arrived.
Tuesday: Ascertained likely time of first water delivery, so drove to Tirley,
calling in at one of my clients on the way to drop off some basic necessities.
Arrived at the Village Hall where a group of villagers were awaiting the arrival
35
of the water delivery. As soon as it arrived, we all formed a human chain, and
soon got it stacked up in the Village Hall. I even roped in two of my sons to
help. Once the water was safely stored, I made a list of the elderly and others
who would have difficulty getting their own supplies, loaded up my car and set
off on my ‘water round’. I know the circumstances were far from ideal, but I
made a lot of new contacts and gained useful knowledge of where people
were particularly in need, for future reference.
Wednesday: I received a call that a local hotel landlady, who still had a water
supply, was keeping rooms open for people to go and shower. I relayed this
information to some of my contacts in Tirley, produced some posters to
display the information, and also some flyers with this information and the
offer of help with shopping for necessities during the crisis.
Thursday: Another day, another delivery of water (two tons of the stuff) to
unload and deliver, along with my leaflets and some bread which I had been
to the local bakery to collect first thing. Picked up a shopping order to deliver
later. A dreadful day, weatherwise, so was very grateful for a cup of tea back
at the Village Hall. I was rather concerned about one elderly gentleman that I
called on, as he hadn’t been getting his meals on wheels this week. His
neighbour promised to keep an eye on him, and I made a mental note to
check up on him at the beginning of the next week. Managed to fit in a home
visit to discuss tax credits during the day, but otherwise, normal business
suspended for the moment.
Friday: Back at my other job, but clutching my GRCC phone, as I have been
asked to take part in a feature on how Village Agents are helping during this
emergency, with Mike George on Radio Glos, along with Barbara Piranty.
This takes place at 2.30pm. I am a bit nervous, but it seems to go very well,
and later that afternoon, I receive a call from Barbara, who has been
contacted by a lady who heard the interview and is dreadfully worried about
her friends in Tirley who are flooded out, but refused to leave their home. I
manage to track down some information about them and find out that they are
ok, but unfortunately, the lady gave Barbara an incorrect phone number, so
despite our best efforts, we were unable to pass this on. Also following on
from the radio feature, I get a phone call from a lady in Maisemore who is very
keen to help out in some way. I take her contact details and promise to get
back in touch when I know what further help is needed.
So we get to the end of a very strange week. This is obviously an ongoing
situation which will continue to affect people for some considerable time. The
water has returned to the taps, although not suitable for drinking. I am
returning to Tirley next week to check on the situation, and will re-visit all the
people I called on, checking that everything is fine, and also offering to take
their empty plastic water bottles to be recycled.
36
A PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION TO A VILLAGE AGENT
IN THE COTSWOLDS
I would like to record my personal appreciation for the work that Mike did in
the communities of Coberley, Cowley and surrounding areas following the
flooding and especially the loss of the Severn Trent water supply to Parishes
on the western edge of the District. He kept in touch with us, gave us updates
regularly and more importantly, ferried copious supplies of bottled water from
distribution centres in Cheltenham to the most needy in his area of action. We
had a real struggle ensuring that bowsers were despatched to those places
but Mike filled the breach at a critical time and with calmness and good
humour too. What an asset he is to your team!
37
GOOD PRACTICE CASE STUDIES
A case study of how one particular Village Agent managed to solve a problem
by working alongside the local residential home, meals on wheels, Dial a Ride
and a fellow Village Agent.
DIARY OF A VILLAGE AGENT – SALLYANNE BATCHELOR FOREST OF
DEAN
I received a call from Social Services to see if I could help with quite a big
problem. They were moving three very elderly ladies (2 of whom are diabetic
and the other has a leg which requires dressing) who were evacuated from
the floods in Tewkesbury and who have been staying at the Dilke Hospital
until accommodation could be found. The re-housing of the ladies to a
property in Newent was to take place the next day but there was a problem
with the supply of meals. In Tewkesbury the ladies had meals on wheels
every day – Newent could only offer meals on wheels on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. Sheppard House had been approached but they would charge £5
per lady, per day and that was unacceptable to them, they do not operate at
weekends but they agreed to deliver meals (if I could arrange them) for £2 per
day.
I then contacted a local residential home and managed to arrange for them to
cook three extra meals a day – dial a ride would then collect them and deliver
them to the three ladies (except weekends of course – but the proprietor of
the home offered to deliver them at weekends for me). All seemed sorted but
at about 6pm ish everything had gone ‘pear-shaped’ because the meals have
to be put in a special plate to keep them at a safe temperature – and the
residential home don’t have any. I have called Eileen Latham (Village Agent)
and asked her to call Meals on Wheels first thing in the morning and ask them
if we could borrow three special food containers for the residential home to
use. If it’s a YES, Eileen will contact Social Services and all will be sorted – if
it is a NO Eileen will call me and I will hope that I can find three special plates
to bring back with me and deliver to the residential home.
There was also a problem registering the ladies as temporary residents with
the Dr Surgery – I spoke to the surgery registrations manageress and
explained the situation to her – she agreed to register the lady with the leg
problem straight away and we agreed that the other 2 diabetic ladies could be
registered 3 days before their insulin runs out.
38
CASE STUDY – PAM THORNE STROUD DISTRICT
I have felt really useful to my villages for the last two weeks! It was gratifying
that the chair of the parish council and the nurse for the elderly at Rowcroft
both thought to contact me at the very beginning, one to ask for names of
vulnerable people and one to provide them, and elderly people phoned me for
news and advice.
I've also liaised with SDC, the police (Reuben Wyatt brought supplies for
pensioners up to the villages) and neighbourhood watch in our effort to deliver
water to households where people find it difficult or impossible to fetch their
own, so I think the whole thing has helped to consolidate the position of
Village Agents as people who look after the interests of the elderly in times of
need.
The people concerned have been really appreciative (and still are - I'm still
delivering drinking water to several households in Randwick, Rick Pellet from
Neighbourhood Watch liaison is looking after Whiteshill)
My villages appear to have been exceptionally lucky - except for the fact that in the beginning
Dumbleton appeared to have been 'forgotten' re. bowsers and more supplies of bottled
water. As I told you, Paul King and others were themselves calling the authorities; which I did
as well simultaneously, managing by chance to obtain a number they didn't have. They were
grateful for my support in that small way. No serious flooding reported and Paul King advised
me friends/neighbours had helped with light clearing up for the very few. He had no-one to
refer to me.
Maggie Campbell from the Dumbleton PCC did contact me about one lady, a Mrs. Lyes, who
had had some flooding. However, she warned me this lady 'is extremely independent' and
not likely to want to accept any help. I had a conversation with her and concerned that both
she and her husband could use extra help; husband could most likely claim Attendance
Allowance at least. I also enquired whether he had been in the Forces and Mrs. Lyes told me
had been in the Navy serving on aircraft carriers. I did mention the British Legion but he
indicated to her he 'didn't need anything' which she passed on to me.
They declined offered visit - I will, however, call them AGAIN and she is expecting this, but it
may be the case I cannot do anything if they refuse help; as unfortunately this is, of course,
their right, which I respect. Pity - have come across this kind of situation before, of course.
Nothing more heard from my contact in Alderton either about anyone actually suffering
damage, etc.
They rallied through amazingly, helping each other as usual.
39
Research and Monitoring to be conducted up to the next Interim Report
1. A continuation of diaries from Village Agents
2. Case Studies identified by village agents
3. Case Studies identified by the people contacting village agents
4. A second round of focus groups with voluntary and statutory organisations
5. Focus Groups for the harder to reach older people
6. Monitoring to continue of Gateways, monthly evaluations forms, village age
performance and helpdesk statistics
40
APPENDIX 1
RECRUITED VILLAGE AGENTS
NORTH COTSWOLDS
WILLERSLEY, SAINTBURY, WESTON SUBEDGE, ASTON SUBEDGE, MICKLETON
EVENLODE, ODDINGTON, MAUGERSBURY, ADLESTROP +
TEMPLE GUITING, GUITING POWER, CUTSDEAN, CONDICOTE, SWELL +
NAUNTON, NOTGROVE, COLD ASTON
SOUTH COTSWOLDS
COBERLEY, COWLEY, BRIMPSFIELD, ELKSTONE, COLESBOURNE, SYDE
DIDMARTON, WESTONBIRT, BOXWELL, KINGSCOTE, TETBURY UPTON, SHIPTON MOYNE, AVENING
CHEDWORTH, YANWORTH, COLN ST DENNIS, HAMPNETT, NORTH CERNEY, RENCOMB, WINSON
QUENINGTON, HATHEROP, ALDSWORTH, WINDRUSH, MESEYHAMPTON
PRESTON , AMPNEY CRUCIS, AMPNEY ST MARY, AMPNEY ST PETER, SIDDINGTON
DOWDESWELL, WITHINGTON, COMPTON ABDALE, SEVENHAMPTON, ANDOVERSFORD, SHIPTON OLIFFE, WHITTINGTON
DAGLINGWORTH, BAUNTON, BAGENDON, DUNTISBOURNE ABBOTS +
DUNTISBOURNE ROUSE, WINSTONE, EDGEWORTH
STROUD
HAM & STONE AND ALKINGTON
ELMORE, LONGNEY, MORETON VALENCE & FRETHERNE, FRAMPTON, HARDWICKE, ARLINGHAM
KINGSWOOD, ALDERLEY & HILLERSLEY & TRESHAM
FROCESTER, NYMPHSFIELD & HORSLEY, ULEY
HAMFALLOW & SLIMBRIDGE, HINTON
BROCKTHORPE & WHADDON, HARESFIELD, HARESCOMBE & PITCHCOMBE, CRANHAM
WHITESHILL & RUSCOMBE & RANDWICK
NORTH NIBLEY & STINCHCOMBE
FOREST
STAUNTON COLEFORD,NEWLAND
HEWELSFIELD & BROCKWIER, ST BRIAVELS , TIDDENHAM
LITTLEDEAN & BLAISDON, WESTBURY ON SEVERN
CHURCHAM, TAYNTON & TIBBERTON, HUNTLEY
RUDFORD, UPLEADON, PAUNTLEY, STAUNTON & CORSE, HARTPURY
KEMPLEY, OXENHALL, GORSLEY & KILCOT, DYMOCK
TEWKESBURY
HIGNHAM & MINSTERWORTH
MAISEMORE, HASFIELD, TIRLEY & CHACELEY, ASHLEWORTH, SANDHURST
DOWN HATHERLEY, STAVERTON & BODDINGTON, LONGFORD
LEIGH, ELMSTONE HARDWICKE, UCKINGTON & STOKE ORCHARD, NORTON
OXENTON, TEDDINGTON & ALDERTON
STANWAY, STANTON, BUCKLAND & SNOWSHILL
41
Appendix 11
Services, Signposting and/or Referrals Provided by Village Agents
July 2007
General Support
2%
4%
4%
4%
1%
3%
Housing
11%
Adult Helpdesk
Other
6%
Transport
Care and Repair
Fire and Rescue
8%
Flooding
39%
9%
Benefits
9%
Warm and Well
Message in a bottle
Volunteering
Services, Signposting and/or Referrals Provided by Village Agents
For AUGUST 2007
General Support
3%
10%
Housing
1%
21%
Adult Helpdesk
7%
Other
1%
Transport
Care and Repair
Fire and Rescue
13%
9%
Flooding
Benefits
7%
8%
15%
5%
Warm and Well
Message in a bottle
Volunteering
42
Services, Signposting and/or Referrals Provided by Village Agents
For SEPTEMBER 2007
General Support
1%
7%
6%
Housing
26%
Adult Helpdesk
10%
Other
2%
Transport
Care and Repair
Fire and Rescue
2%
8%
10%
7%
8%
13%
Flooding
Benefits
Warm and Well
Message in a bottle
Volunteering
Services, Signposting and/or Referrals Provided by Village Agents
For OCTOBER 2007
Adult Helpdesk24
Care and Repair
6%
9%
Fire and Rescue
5%
Benefits
9%
Wrm and well
Volunteering
Housing
8%
44%
5%
6%
1%
2%
2%
3%
Other
message in a bottle
Flooding
General Support
Transport
43