LINKAGE PLUS PROJECT
VILLAGE AGENTS
GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
In partnership with
GLOUCESTERSHIRE RURAL COMMUNITY COUNCIL
THIRD INTERIM REPORT
LYNNE WILSON
INLOGOV, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY
THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
APRIL 2008
1. INTRODUCTION
The Third Interim Report is continuing the work of the first and second
Interim Reports charting 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’s the project’s progress. The Third Interim
Report analyses the third 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 Third Interim Report will:
 Highlight changes to clusters
 Revisit the Outcomes and Success Criteria for the Project
 Revision made since last Interim Report
 The role of the newly recruited Community Agents and how this
role will be monitored
 Highlight the Qualitative data by taking a further look at best
practice diaries and case studies
 Look at how Village Agents are working alongside voluntary and
statutory organisations
 Look at how the Project is continuing to meet its Quantitative
Success Criteria and its analysis
 Conclusions
1a Changes to Clusters
Village Agents have continued to work in individual parish clusters within
North and South Cotswolds, Stroud, The Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury.
The number of parishes covered has increased from 95 to 192, the most
recent additions being largely as a response to individual Village Agent
requests. Many were beginning to feel they had reached capacity in their
original clusters, had networked with the majority of relevant people and were
eager to cover more areas.
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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 that 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
Third Interim report covers a time span of November 2007 – February 2008.
The data in this time span will be used to:
 Assess the success criteria of 1500 Village Agent contacts
 Assess the success criteria of 500 Village gent contacts to the
Adult Services Helpdesk
 Assess the success criteria that Village Agents will continue to
run a minimum of one surgery, meet with one local or statutory
or voluntary organisation 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.
 Assess the increase in benefit applications and any increase in
referrals to energy schemes

Assess how Village Agents have been promoting volunteering

The report will also assess the number of Village Agent requests
for smoke alarms to be fitted. A measurement of success for
the village agent project was requests by Village Agents for
smoke alarms to be fitted in the homes of older people.

The Village Agents are asked to fill in diaries and build up case
studies, reflecting the diversity of their roles when working in
parish clusters.
1c. Revisions made since last Interim Report

The Village Agent Web-Site is now up and running and is being well
supported. The web based Gateway referral system is continuing to
work effectively.
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1d

The area of topics to be used at a series of focus groups for ‘hard to
reach’ older people have been designed and a series of these focus
groups will take place between March and April.

The design of the 2nd wave of questionnaires to be completed by older
people has been completed. The analysed data obtained from the
completed questions will be used in future reports.
The Community Agent Project
The Community Agent Project is now up and running and Community Agents
have been appointed and are in place.
Working to the same model as Village Agents, 6 Community Agents are now
working within the county. 1 Community Agent is working within the Chinese
community, 1 Community Agent is working within the Asian Community, 1
Community Agent is working with the migrant community and 2 Community
Agents are working with the Afro/Caribbean community. There are also 2
Community Agents working with the Asian community in Cheltenham; one
Gujerati and one Bengali.
The role of the Community Agent is to become a trusted member of minority
ethnic communities throughout the county and recognised as a person who
can signpost people to the services they require. The work of Community
Agents will then go on to highlight what need there is across the county within
ME Communities, raising awareness of what support is already available,
what is working well which then can be emulated in other areas.
Community Agents will be using the same standardised monitoring form
(Gateways). These enquiries made through the Gateway Form will be
examined for themes and patterns around ethnicity, topics and other wider
issues which may become apparent. Replicating the successful Village Agent
Diaries and Case Studies, Community Agents will be asked to complete a day
to day diary of their work and highlight any specific case studies. This source
of qualitative data will provide a rich, in-depth account of the role of a
Community Agent, while providing a ‘voice’ for Community Agents in
monitoring their own work.
2. Monitoring the Qualitative Data
The following data is a record of the in-depth work the Village Agent
undertakes to ensure that older people within their parish clusters receive a
better quality of life and are able to access services should older people
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choose to do so. The data is a self completed record by Village Agents in
their day to day role as Village Agents.
2a Further Dairies and Case Studies completed by Village Agents to
capture the richness of their role in assisting older people to gain
access to a range of services
Day in the Life of a Village Agent – Wednesday 30 January 2008
8.40am. Telephone call from very anxious client. Referral made by GP’s surgery.
Issues sensitive and complex because of some mental health difficulties - two Village
Agents had visited previous day. Reassurance given about pending matters and further
home visit agreed. Follow up work will need help of Citizens Advice Bureau. Call
made to them.
9.30am. Telephone calls to :
Client and OT regarding Social Care assessment that has been outstanding for many
weeks.
Call to Social Worker and GP’s surgery to ask about disability aids for client.
Calls to Care and Repair, Warm and Well Stroud District Council about client, 80
years of age, living in a Park Home, who had telephoned to ask if she could get help
because her gas boiler had broken down before Christmas, and she could not afford to
pay engineer to look it. No other form of heating or hot water.
11am. Visit to Day Centre. Talked with members about various issues – Social Care
aids – Attendance Allowance claim – Gardening Scheme – Bereavement issues.
Helped with lunches and went with Day Centre helper to take lunch to 89 year old
gentleman living alone, feeling too frail to leave his home. Quickly assessed further
visit needed urgently to check on Social Care needs and benefits.
1.30 pm. Left Day Centre to visit another Day Centre member who was not able to
visit the Centre today because she had developed leg ulcer. Lady, 87 years of age,
living with her son. Her visits to the Day Centre are very important to her and she
visits most weeks. A volunteer driver collects her from home. She is taken to the Day
Centre, and returned home afterwards. Worried she is not going to be able to visit the
Centre for sometime in case she injures her leg. Reassured her that if she wishes to
visit, arrangements can be made to make sure she is comfortable and placed in a
situation where she could be safe. Client’s situation discussed with Day Centre
organisers and planned a further visit very soon.
2pm. Home visit to lady, 88 years of age to explain her entitlement to a recent award
of Attendance Allowance, and how this will give her entitlement to Pension Credit.
Agreed to help her pursue a claim for Pension Credit.
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3.30pm. Home visit to the client, whose gas boiler had been broken down before
Christmas. She was feeling very low, and finding life difficult without hot water and
heating. Further telephone conversations with Stroud District Council and Care and
Repair to obtain an agreement for urgent action to be taken to determine whether gas
boiler can be repaired or new boiler needed. Assurance given Welfare Officer from
Care and Repair would visit client urgently.
5pm. Referral from Stroud District Council to visit elderly couple, 80 years and 90
years respectively and housebound, worried because they have quantity of diabetic
sharps they cannot dispose of. Completed general check for social care support and
aids – completed benefit check – some follow up needed on this matter – took away
diabetic sharps. Further visit planned in two weeks time to follow up the welfare
benefit issue.
Total number of contacts for the day 38
Time spent 7 hours.
A CASE STUDY – ROLLER SKATING
I was contacted by an older gentleman who wanted to run weekly roller skating
sessions for families, including grandparents. He had run a successful trial session
earlier in the summer and now wanted to extend this but needed funding. Having just
attended the Funding Day, I was able to supply him with several options. The grant is
in the pipeline.
At the time of writing, three sessions have taken place and the skaters included
several older people. The next goal is to increase the numbers attending and to obtain
more boots for hire.
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2b Maisemore Friendship Group - A summary of cases
Maisemore Friendship Group is a thriving social club which meets fortnightly at
Maisemore Village Hall. The members enjoy various activities and entertainments
and good home-cooked food, with the option of taking an extra portion home for the
next day.
I have worked with several members of the group, covering a wide variety of cases,
over the past 12 months. Some of them are detailed below:



Mrs H. – I took Mrs H along with me the first time I visited the group, as she
had become increasingly depressed during the winter months, having been
virtually housebound. Since her first visit, she has been a regular member of
this and another group, and this social inclusion has been of enormous benefit
to her. Along the way, FOD agent Liz Davies and I have enabled her to claim
extra benefits and Pension Credits, had Occupational Therapy Assessments
resulting in Living Aids and Safety Grab Rails, helped her fill in forms and
sort out paperwork, got Smoke Alarms and Sensor Lights fitted, had a water
meter installed to save money, and got her nebuliser repaired as a matter of
urgency.
Mrs M – Mrs M is in her mid 90’s, and when I first met her at Maisemore, she
asked if I could find her some information about a bath lift device. Although
she could still manage to bathe, she was extremely concerned about the
dangers of slipping and having an accident. I checked the device out on the
internet, and spoke to Mrs M about the cost, which was a lot more than she
had expected or could afford. I then suggested that I refer her for an OT
assessment to see if she would be eligible to have her bath replaced with a
shower. This took place, and Mrs V was promised that a walk-in shower
would be installed. After a few months, nothing further had happened, so I
contacted the housing association who promised to send someone out to do a
survey. This was done, and Mrs M was told the work would go ahead. Time
passed and still nothing happened. I made further enquiries, and it appeared
that an outside agency had been called in by Severn Vale to clear a backlog of
cases, and this company had since ceased to exist. I enlisted the help of the
Adult Helpdesk, which led to a meeting at Mrs M’s house with a gentleman
from the OT team, who confirmed that the award had been made and promised
to follow up the progress of the case with the relevant people. Mrs M is now
delighted with her shower. I have also persuaded her to have a helpline, in
view of the fact she worries about falling. She recently posed me another
question – she has a hedge at the bottom of her garden which is getting out of
control. She needed it cutting back to a reasonable height, partly because it
was blocking her neighbour’s view. I scratched my head a bit on this one,
because I knew she wouldn’t be able to afford a professional to come and do
it. I tried Anchor Staying Put but they weren’t able to help, and then I
happened to catch sight of an article in the Citizen about a Community
Volunteer Group in Brockworth who had just purchased a hedge cutter to help
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them tidy up older people’s gardens. A phone call to the group resulted in a
contact for Action 4 Employment, who were only to happy to go and trim Mrs
M’s hedge, and remove the cuttings, for no charge. On my last visit to
Maisemore, Mrs M asked me about being able to use a laptop (she is writing a
book!) and I am awaiting further information from the Age Concern MITS
service.
 Mr and Mrs A – They had been given a computer and wanted to keep in touch
with their grown-up children and their families, so I did some research on
Broadband packages for them
 Mrs P – A member of Maisemore but living in Ashleworth. Told me that
while she was able to get to the Doctor’s, as the bus would drop her off by the
surgery, this wasn’t a designated bus stop, so she was unable to catch the bus
home as she couldn’t walk to the official stop. I was able to put her in touch
with a volunteer driver in Ashleworth who is quite willing to take her to
appointments.
 Mrs S – When I first met Mrs S at Maisemore, her husband had just gone into
residential care, consequently, the domestic help she had from Social Services
had ceased, but she wasn’t able to manage on her own. She needed help to do
a bit of ironing and a spot of assisted shopping. I managed to find someone
through Age Concern Clean Sweep Plus. This arrangement is working very well.
Before Christmas, I took Mrs S’s electric blanket to Age Concern for safety
checking. It failed the test, and was replaced with a new one, which she was
extremely pleased with. Following the death of her husband, she has recently been
clearing out his clothes, but can’t manage to get them to a Charity Shop on her
own. I know of a local school who are collecting bags of clothes which will help
them raise funds, and I have promised Mrs S that I will collect her bags and take
them to the collection point. Mrs S is also a regular passenger on my Minibus
Minitrips, which she particularly enjoys as she is unable to get out and about on
her own.

Mr and Mrs T – This couple had a private arrangement for domestic help
which had come to an end, and wanted to employ another cleaner but were
wary about having an unknown person in their home. Following the successful
arrangement with Age Concern for Mrs S, I also put them in touch with Age
Concern, and they were very happy to use someone recommended by this
organisation.
 Mrs E – I met Mrs E at Maisemore for the first time recently. She was
desperately worried about her husband who is in constant pain following a
series of treatments and operations, and she didn’t know what course of action
to take. I did some research and phoned Mrs E with details of the pain clinic at
the hospital, but I emphasised that the referral must be made through their GP.
I received a phone call later, thanking me for my concern, she had taken her
husband to the GP, and they had an appointment for the clinic the following
week.
 Miss C – This is a difficult case which is ongoing, and which I am working on
with Warm and Well. Miss C lives in a housing association bungalow, and
hasn’t had any heating, other than an electric fire, since her Parkray system
broke down more than a year ago. She only recently asked me for advice.
There seems to have been a difference of opinion with the housing association
during the past twelve month period, when she was told that her existing
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system had to be replaced, and an engineer promised an oil fired system, then
the contractors didn’t turn up, then the housing association said they no longer
fitted oil systems, and the engineer had only been on a temporary contract.
They proceeded to offer Miss C and economy 10 ‘Wet’ system, which she
doesn’t want, and so they have come to an impasse, resulting in 80+ year old
Miss C living in unacceptably cold conditions. The Warm and Well adviser is
now acting as go-between – currently there seems to be a possibility that the
HA will consider oil, otherwise a compromise will have to be reached, perhaps
with Miss C accepting an economy 7 ‘dry’ system as being the quickest and
easiest to install.
This is a selection of cases I have dealt with from Maisemore. I was chatting to a new
member last week, who is full-time carer for his wife. The group organiser had given
me a nod that they may be in need of some help. Sure enough, I received a call from
the husband that evening, and am going to see them at home next week. I understand
that he has several issues to discuss. After 12 months in the job, nothing I get asked
about surprises me. I enjoy the challenge of finding answers, and certainly get a buzz
from being ‘hands on’ and seeing the results.
2c The following is a commendation of the work undertaken by on
particular Village Agent
VILLAGE AGENTS
Our Village Agent is Jenny Cunningham and we can’t speak highly enough of her
efforts to improve life in the community for our older residents. One of our friends
has macular degeneration and she has helped him immensely. Another neighbour
looks after his 94-year-old mother and again Jenny has helped him to contact carers
etc. She visits our local 60 club and members there have also benefited from her
expertise.
Instances of Jenny helping out in the community has been assisting older people to
obtain benefits to which they were entitled but which they were not aware of. This
could often lead to various District council grants to enable people to remain in their
own home. To the best of our knowledge, numbers are approximately a dozen.
Jenny has also liased with the Royal British Legion to help with the purchase of
wheelchairs and other appliances and also for holidays. Jenny also runs a library club
where people choosing books can bring up any problems over a cup of coffee. She has
worked with the District Council to run a weekly falls prevention class in Ampney
Crucis village hall. At the request of one village, Jenny contacted the County Council
to run an extra bus through Ampney Crucis.
These are just a few of the many instances Jenny has helped our older members in the
community. There are too many to detail separately.
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We visit another senior club in Chedworth and people there cannot speak highly
enough of their Village Agent. If these two are a sample of local community Village
Agents, Gloucestershire as a whole must benefit greatly from these dedicated people.
2d Qualitative Data Obtained from Focus Groups made up Voluntary
and Statutory Organisations talking about the role of Village Agents and
their working relationship with Village Agents
How Village Agents Are Working Alongside Statutory and Voluntary
Organisations within Gloucestershire
Village Agents as part of their role are to work with statutory and voluntary
organisations within the county to build and provide improved access to
knowledge base of frequently asked questions in response to customer need.
Detailed below is a write up of the data collected from three focus groups of
representatives from organisations working alongside Village Agents in
Gloucestershire. Two focus groups took place in late 2007 and a further
focus group took place in early 2008. The decision to hold a further focus
group was taken in order to increase the number of represented organisations
and therefore give a more in-depth analysis of how village were working
alongside organisations in response to customer need.
The organisations represented at the focus groups were :
NHS GUIDE
Local Pensions Office
Gloucestershire Rural County Council
Fire and Rescue
Warm and Well
Age Concern Gloucestershire
Gloucester Care and Repair
Senior Neighbourhood Warden
Stroud District Council Care Line Office
Stroud District Council Health and Well-being Partnership Office
The relationship between organisations and Village Agents
Facilitators of the focus group asked participants about how they worked
alongside Village Agents and their relationship with Village Agents.
One participant spoke of making joint home visits with Village Agents and how
by going into people’s homes with a Village Agent had helped to re-assure
older people. “Because the Village Agent was a face they now trusted.” There was
also evidence of Village Agents taking on a role of referring older people to
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organisations who could offer them a service. “It is now a two way process
Village Agents are now referring people to the Careline Office.”
A further participant felt that the link to the Department of Work and Pensions
was good because it helped to ensure that older people were made aware of
the benefits they were entitled to and were then encouraged to apply for the
benefits. Other partners felt this particular part of the Village Agent’s role was
crucial “ the main advantage of their work with older people is making sure people
were getting the money they were entitled to”
One particular participant felt he had a closer relationship with certain Village
Agents because of his role as a Neighbourhood Warden and through his role
he signposted older people to Village Agents.
“It is a two way process with me I have told older people about Village Agents when
I have been unable to spend time with people who need guidance and help.”
The role of Village Agents to improve access to knowledge in response to
need
The facilitators of the focus groups asked participants how the Village Agent
had increased their visibility in connection with services for older people.
Those present felt that they were receiving more and certainly more
productive referrals as a result of the village agent.
Certainly one partner felt that prior to Village Agents - older people were
reluctant to access their services and Village Agents had been passing
worthwhile referrals.
It seems evident that older people felt happy dealing with someone they were familiar
with rather than an official person.
One partner felt that the Village Agent had revived a community spirit – and
perhaps replaced the village squire or parish vicar who would have been the
trusted visible member of the parish at one time taking on the role of the
Village Agent.
“When people say the Cotswolds the perception is - it’s a pretty chocolate box area
but the reality is, there is one bus a week which could mean sitting on the bus for over
2 hrs there’s no doctor, no pub, no shop, no school, the church is run by a part-time
vicar.”
“Its bringing back a bit of community spirit – so its not just about the individual you go to work - you come back – you go out to get in your car to drive to work
without noticing anything or anybody.”
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“One of the fantastic things it is doing is improving the visibility of older people its
not just about we have got the pension service the fire service which are available to
you - but you are important enough to us to bring these services to your doorstep and
that level of accessibility for older people especially in isolated communities is
fantastic.”
“The value of Village Agents is in knowing someone who can act on behalf of older
people – Good that they are independent.”
One person taking part in the focus groups understood the role of the Village
Agent as being able to reach isolated people and gain their trust. “It’s about
Village Agents picking up clients who may not know about the different agencies.”
“A door opening for the more isolated and often the more vulnerable elderly person
and a means to signposting to available services.”
One participant felt that the targets within the project could hinder the Village
Agents responding to need and the numbers and percentages didn’t
necessarily reflect the amount of valuable work the Village Agents did. “the
figures gained from the gateway forms do not reflect the amount of work village
agents do – well beyond what they should be doing”. However, when participants
were told about the collection of case studies and Village Agents keeping
diaries they thought this was a good way of resolving this lack of evidence but
were also conscious that this gave Village Agents more work and suggested
that there might be an opportunity for an administrative post to collect this
data rather than leaving it to Village Agents.
Participants felt that the success of the project was down to Village Agents
working well outside their 10 hour a week remit.
“Some Village Agents are really committed to their role and it is obvious they work
more than 10 hours a week and don’t just signpost but take on lots of other roles.”
One comment was made about their increased role :
“If they are so tied up with one person what about others. But they are only
supposed to be sign-posters it shouldn’t be taking over their lives.”
It was also felt by participants that the good selection criteria for potential
village agents reflected the way Village Agents went about their work.
However, partners recognised that some weren’t perfect, and the success of
the project was a result of individual Village Agents and their commitment to
the job.
“Some Village Agents are always on the phone to us about different things and in fact
insist that we should do certain things while others we never hear from.”
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Participants pointed out that Parish Councils did an excellent job of promoting
the Village Agent. Other areas have now heard about the work of Village
Agents and these areas are now asking for their own village agent.
Signposting to and working alongside organisations offering a service
The facilitators were also keen to find out how Village Agents as a result of
their role were identifying different organisations who were offering a service
and if Village Agents were signposting.
All those taking part in the focus groups felt that the Village Agents made
each partner more accessible to older people in rural parishes. Again there
was a feeling that the Village Agent was a trusted face and older people were
much more likely to invite a person they knew into their house rather than a
professional. Partners felt that village agents had developed a strong system
of engaging with older people within their area and it was through this system
of engagement that partners could follow-up with their own particular service.
There was a feeling that the partnership working between organisations had
always been present, however, on the whole the Village Agents have made
each partner more visible and by doing so had improved the way older people
had access to services. There was an understanding that Village Agents had
generated an increase in more formalized joint working.
“ We think its great from our point of view as an organisation we have always worked
in partnership with other organisation statutory, voluntary sectors and actually the
Village Agents have formalised a lot of that and has increased our reach and has
given us a more formal framework to work with – another opportunity to do this
cross partnership working.”
“Older people are more likely to have mobility problems and this tends to make them
invisible in regards to services – this project turns that completely on its head and
says you are so important we are going to come to you and ask you what you need
and then guide you appropriately.”
Gloucestershire Flooding July 2007
All partners felt that Village Agents stepped into their roles admirably when
people were living alongside the aftermath of the flooding in Gloucestershire.
‘ Village Agents were the glue that kept all services running smoothly and jointly.”
It was agreed that the flooding were just made for the Village Agents to show
their vital role in bringing different services together.
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The Buts
The biggest BUT to the project was what was going to happen when the
money runs out.
“ I think its really exciting how the project is expanding I’m really terrified that
the money is going to stop and nobody knows what will happen after that .” There is
a potential to wipe out a brilliant service -and its going to be worse because it will
look as though it had never happened at all”
When you look at what having a Village Agent actually costs – the training costs the
technology they use its nothing compared to the actual benefits being taken up –
homes have been made more warm more safer, more comfortable.
How can the role of Village Agents be improved
One particular participant felt that if the concept of the Village Agent was to be
extended in any form then there was a real case for not just looking at older
people in rural areas but to also look at children and parents with young
families.
“many of the issues such as public transport in rural areas can also potentially
isolate mothers with young children.”
Other participants saw a need for Village Agents in more urban areas.
“We would like to see it extended beyond the rural communities and into the more
urban communities because there is a definite need – there is a concern of extensive
isolation in urban communities
A further comment was made
I think we realise that Village Agents aren’t perfect, but to some people they do seem
to be perfect, again it depends on the individual Village Agent.”
Another participant felt that the use of the Gateway Form could be used by
other organisations.
“We would like to see Gateways forms to be a two way traffic – we would like to be
able to refer people to Village Agents and across to other partners in this more formal
way.”
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The development of the Village Agent Website was seen as exciting and a
positive way to publicise the work of Village Agents
“I think the website is really exciting and by developing this website the project is
going to grow.”
A suggestion was made that perhaps Village Agents could have more training
with refresher courses.
Further Analysis
It is evident that organisations have always worked alongside each other in
response to the needs of older people within Gloucestershire. However, what
Village Agents are doing is gaining the confidence of older people and by
gaining this confidence are putting older people in touch with a range of
services; which without the help of the village agent hey would not have
accessed.
The project’s success is centred on the commitment of Village Agents to their
role and work. It is clear that a number of village agents work well outside
their remit. As a partner stated “ a number are very dedicated”.
Clearly the Village Agent Project works extremely well in the rural setting of
Gloucestershire and it has also been suggested that such a project would
work equally as well in an urban setting. Participants were also eager to
stress that not only were older people isolated in rural areas but parents with
young families often experienced similar isolation.
People in this same group talked about Nurses for the Elderly being an
excellent scheme. The understanding of this scheme was that it was funded
by Central Government available to people over 75 years but these Nurses
were not available in every Doctor Practices.
3. Meeting the Quantitative Success Criteria : A Summary

Assess the success criteria of 1500 Village Agents contacts for each four
month period April 2007 – June 2008.

Village Agent contacts for period November, 2007 – February 2008
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The total number of Village Agent contacts for the period November 2007 –
February 2008 amounted to 6975, with the total number of meetings reaching
1126. This figure again more than exceed the 1500 Village Agent contacts.
These figures also represent a % increase in contacts since October, 2007
and a % increase in meetings since October, 2007.

Assess the success criteria of 500 village agent contacts to Adult
Helpdesk for each four month period April 2007 – June 2008.

Village Agent contacts to Adult Helpdesk for period November ’07 –
February 2008
This target has also been viewed as unrealistic. The number of Village Agent
contacts to the Adult Helpdesk has been 105 for the 4 monthly period
November 2007 – February 2008..

Assess the success criteria that Village Agents will continue to run a
minimum of one surgery meet with one local statutory or voluntary
organisation 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 November ’07 – February 2008
The target for the period November ‘07 – February, 2008 has been more than
exceeded with 6975 contacts being made and the total number of meetings
reaching 1126.

Assess the success criteria of increase in benefit applications and
increase in referrals to energy schemes.

For period November ’07 – February 2008
For the period November ‘07 – February 2008 there have been 60 contacts
for benefit applications Referrals to energy schemes amount to 43.
15

Assess how Village Agents have been promoting volunteering and
liaising with the existing Time Banking Scheme and other voluntary
organisations
The Standardised Enquiry Form (Gateways) show that 10 enquiries have
been signposted to volunteering opportunities during November ’07 through
to February 2008


Assess the number of Village Agent requests for smoke alarms to be
fitted.
For period November ’07 – February 2008
The number of requests by Village Agents for smoke alarms to be fitted for
the November ’07 – February 2008 period amount to 33.

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 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 November ‘07 through to February 2008 11 contacts were made
through the Gateway Form requesting Flooding support.
5. QUANTIATIVE MONITORING SECTION
5a. 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.
16
The following data and information is based on the monitoring information
collected between November ’07 and February 2008.
GRAPH 1
Total Number of Gateways completed
per month
number of gateways
250
200
150
100
50
0
NOV '0'7
DEC '07
JAN '08
FEB '08
months
Graph 1 shows the number of Gateway forms completed by Village Agents
per month for the monitoring period November 2007 – February 2008. These
numbers range from 153 to over 200.
During November 2007 Village Agents completed 203 Gateway forms.
During December this number fell to 162. However in January 2008 this
number increased again to 233 and in February the number of Gateway forms
completed was 216.
These Gateway forms would have directed older people to a range of
services.
The top requests services will be itemised further on in the report.
17
GRAPH 2
Breakdown of completed Gateways by Age Range for Monitoring
Period November 2007 – February 2008
35-39
70
40-44
60
45-49
50-54
50
55-59
60-64
40
65-69
30
70-74
75-79
20
80-84
10
85-89
90-94
0
Nov ''07
Dec '07
Jan '08
Feb '08
95-99
Unknown
Graph 2 gives a breakdown of completed gateways by age range. The
number of completed Gateway forms are evenly matched for each month,
apart from December which appears to record a lower number of enquiries.
Overall, the 80-84 age range has been recorded by the Gateway monitoring
form as making the most enquiries, compared with other age ranges. The
figures for the 80-84 age range were Nov - 46, Dec - 25, Jan – 61, Feb -55.
The unknown range recorded the second highest number of enquiries.
According to the figures available enquires made by the 80-84 age range
increased substantially in January.
The 80-84 age range was also recorded in the previous interim report as
making most enquiries and having most contact with Village Agents.
As would be expected enquiries increase between the ages of 70 and 89
years.
Monitoring figures show there have been enquiries made by people between
the ages of 35 – 49. Figures show 13 enquiries were made by the age range
of 45-49.
18
GRAPH 3 Breakdown of completed Gateway Forms by Gender for
Monitoring Period November 2007 – February 2008
180
completed gateways
160
140
120
Male
100
Female
80
Unknown
60
40
20
0
Nov '07
Dec '07 Jan '08
Feb '08
months
Graph 3 shows women are more likely to make enquiries and make contact
with Village Agents than are men. The graph shows enquiries from women
are more than double to that of men. These figures follow the pattern started
in the first interim report of more women than men asking for assistance.
As argued in the first interim report, women could be attending more social
events than men and by doing so be more aware of the role of Village Agents.
It could also be argued that women are more likely to access services than
men.
GRAPH 4 Breakdown of completed Gateways Forms by Ethnicity for
monitoring period November 2007 – February 2008
19
number of completed Gateways
250
As./B.As
200
BI./BI.Brit
Chinese
150
M.Parent.
Other
100
White
Unknown
50
0
Nov '07 Dec '07 Jan '08
Feb '08
months
Graph 4 illustrates the number of contacts by ethnic grouping. The number of
contacts over the monitoring period November 2007 and February 2008 were
predominately ‘white British and ‘unknown’.
In November ’07 184 older people of white British ethnic origin made
contacted with Village Agents through the Gateway Form and 43 were
recorded as ethnicity unknown. In December the figures were 104 white
British and 44 ‘unknown’. In January these figures increase in the case of
white British to 199 and ‘unknown’ amount to 42. In February the recordings
were 196 white British and 37 ‘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. They are told not to judge for themselves. Unless there is a
need for the ethnic data, for example, in regards to accessing a statutory
service Village Agents do not record it.
As stated previously in other interim reports the Maiden Data 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.
The following graph shows the number of completed Gateway Forms from
individual parish clusters, as with earlier interim reports the scatter graph
reveal some interesting patterns
20
GRAPH 5 Scatter Graph showing the Number of Completed Gateway Forms
by individual Parish Cluster between November 2007 through to February
2008
300
S5
250
200
S4
SC5
150
S2
TW2
S6
NC1
100
SC3
SC7
NC2
50
NC3 SC1
SC4
SC6
SC2
0
S3
S7 FOD1
TW5
FOD4
S8 FOD3 FOD6
TW6
FOD5
TW4
FOD2
S1
TW3
TW1
Graph 5 shows that the majority of individual parish clusters are returning
between 50 – 100 completed Gateway forms during the monitoring period
November 07 to February 2008. There are 6 clusters returning between 100
– 200 completed forms. Again there is one parish cluster within Stroud
returning over 250 completed forms.
Again Village Agents within the Forest of Dean (FOD) and Tewkesbury (TW)
appear to have fewer returned Gateways. But there appears to be a similar
21
pattern of returned Gateways from within South Cotswolds and North
Cotswolds.
Overall village agents within the whole of Stroud have performed well with
areas of Stroud returning some of the highest numbers of completed forms.
But there are some exceptions with one parish cluster within Tewkesbury and
one in South Cotswolds returning some of the highest number of completed
Gateways.
5b Making Contact - Meeting the Success Criteria
The Success Criteria in the Memorandum of Understanding (Gloucester
County Council, 2007)
“Village Agents will run a minimum of one surgery, meet with one local
statutory or voluntary group, or visit 4 people in their homes or compete 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 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 monitoring period November ’07 through to February 2008
has again exceeded this amount with contacts amounting to 6975 and the
total number of meetings amounting to 1126. The following 2 pie charts
illustrate the different venues village agents have used to contact people.
Chart 1 Points of Contact for Village Agents between November ’07 and
February 2008
Other, 1123,
16%
Church, 73, 1%
Stakeholder,
922, 13%
Parish, 511,
7%
Home Visit,
1019, 15%
, , 0%
Health /GP
Health /GP,
131, 2%
Existing, 2774,
40%
Existing
VA Surgery
Home Visit
Parish
Stakeholder
VA Surgery,
387, 6%
Church
Other
22
The above chart shows that for the period November 2007 through to
February 2008 the greatest point of contact for Village Agents comes from
existing sources (2774). This point of contact takes place at meetings which
have already been established, whereby contacts are made through Lunch
Clubs or W.I. meetings. However, this means of contact has decreased over
the whole monitoring period and Home Visits has continued to increased as a
point of contact.
Contacting Older people by means of other stakeholders has increased
between November and February 2008 from 9% during the second monitoring
period to 13%. This could be a further indication of Village Agents
successfully working alongside Statutory and Voluntary Organisations.
Chart 2 The Number of Meetings Arising From Points of Contact
between November 2007 and February 2008
, Other, 1, 0% , , , 0%
, Health /GP,
, Stakeholder,
20, 2%
95, 8%
, Parish, 55,
, Existing, 185,
5%
16%
, Church, 4, 0%
, VA Surgery,
87, 8%
, Home Visit,
678, 61%
Chart 2 shows that visiting people within their own homes continues to be the
most popular location for meeting people. The chart shows a 1% increase in
Home Visit since the last monitoring period. The second most popular location
is again meetings which already exist and are well established.
23
The following two scatter graphs shows how Village Agents contact people by
individual parish cluster.
Graph 6
Scatter Graph Showing Number of Contacts made by Village Agents By
Individual Parish Cluster Between November 2007 – February 2008
700
, FOD4
600
500
, NC3
, S4
, S5
, S2
400
100
, TW4
, FOD3
, SC5
, SC4
300
200
, TW2
, NC1 , SC1
, SC2
, SC3
, S6
, S8
, SC6
, S3
, SC7
, S1
, FOD5
, S7
, FOD1
, FOD2
, FOD6
, TW6
, TW5
, TW1
0
The above scatter graph illustrates individual parish clusters and Village
Agent performance in terms of making contact with older people. During
November 2007 and February 2008 there appears to be the same dispersed
range of contacts but without the distinct groupings as with the previous
monitoring period.
The majority of Village Agents have made between 100 – 300 contacts.
However, there is an increase in recorded contacts in the 300-500 range. A
parish cluster within the Forest of Dean (FOD) recorded the highest number of
contacts (above 600).
24
Graph 7
Scatter Graph Showing The Numbers of Meetings Held in Individual
parish Clusters by Village Agents Between November 2007 and February
2008
200
180
S4
160
140
120
100
S5
NC3
80
60
40
20
0
SC5
SC1
SC6
S2
SC7
NC1
SC3
S3
SC2 SC4 S1
S6
S8
FOD5
FOD6
TW2
TW4
FOD4
TW6
FOD3 TW1
TW5
FOD2
FOD1
S7
Graph 7 illustrates the number of meetings being held in individual parish
clusters. The majority of Village Agents are holding between 10 and 60
meetings
Village Agents working in Parish clusters within Stroud (S4 and S5) are
holding the most meetings. Village Agents within Tewkesbury are holding
fewer meetings. However overall the number of meetings being held have
increased with the highest number of meetings amounting to just under 180
for this monitoring period.
25
A final monitoring period will continue map any further increases or decreases
in points of contact made by Village Agents.
5c Main Issues and Topics for Contacting Village Agents
From November through to February 2008 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
Support – General
Other
Adult Helpdesk
Benefits
Warm and Well
Transport
Fire and Rescue –
Smoke Alarms
8. Care and Repair
9. Housing
10. Age Concern
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Gateways
225
188
73
60
43
40
33
29
26
21
Between November 2007 and February 2008 there have been a number of
changes in the top ten topics. Enquiries around support in general have
continued to be placed first in the list of top ten topics. Enquiries about
benefits have remained at the same level. However, enquiries referred to as
Warm and Well (home heating/insulation requests) have moved up to fourth
place in the top ten list. Transport enquiries have continued to be placed in
the list of top ten topics alongside requests for smoke alarms.
The Memorandum of Understanding states that both benefit applications and
referrals to energy schemes should have increases of 5% by June 2008
Enquiries about benefits applications between November 2007 and February
2008 amounted to 60 and this amount of being in the sixties has been
replicated over the last three Interim Reports. Referrals to energy schemes
for this 4 monthly period have risen to 43.
26
Volunteering is the other topic identified in the Success Criteria in the
Memorandum of Understanding and there were 10 returned Gateways
relating to volunteering. The Time Bank in North Cotswolds is still continuing.
Volunteering enquiries have continued to remain low on the listings for
enquiries. This low response to volunteering appears to reflect the position
universally in organisations concerned with volunteering hours and raising the
awareness of volunteering.
The Memorandum states a specific focus on benefit, energy schemes and
volunteering enquiries and to reflect this focus the following table is a break
down of figures for each month between November 2007 and February 2008.
Benefits
Energy
Volunteering
Nov. 2007
27
16
7
Dec.2007
7
13
2
Jan. 2008
18
12
0
Feb. 2008
8
2
1
Analysis of Adult Helpdesk Statistics
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 November 2007 to February
2008 there have been 73 contacts to the Adult Helpdesk, this figure
represents approximately 4 contacts per week.
The Appendices at the end of this report will offer a complete overview of the
topics and concerns older people are contacting Village Agents about. This
information is contained the Gateway forms.
Conclusion
The next Interim Report will be the fourth and final monitoring report. All of
the four Interim Reports will inform the final Evaluation Report of The Village
Agent LinkAge Plus Project.
27
APPENDICES
Services, Signposting and/or Referrals provided by Village Agents
For NOVEMBER 2007
General Support
2%
Adult Helpdesk
4%
4%
Warm and Well
0%
2%
Volunteering
22%
Transport
8%
Other
9%
13%
19%
8%
6%
3%
Benefits
Fire and Rescue Smoke Alarms
Age Concern
Care and Repair
Flooding Support
Housing
28
Services, Signposting and/or Referrals Provided by Village Agents
For DECEMBER 2007
General Support
Adult Helpdesk
4%
Warm and Well
1% 2%
3%
5%
Volunteering
0%
28%
5%
Transport
Other
26%
6%
8%
10%
2%
Benefits
Fire and Rescue Smoke Alarms
Age Concern
Care and Repair
Flooding Support
Housing
29
Services, Signposting and/or Referrals Provided by Village Agents
For JANUARY 2008
30
General Support
Adult Helpdesk
4%
Warm and Well
0%
2%
8%
Volunteering
0%
Transport
1%
32%
8%
Other
Benefits
25%
9%
5%
0%
Fire and Rescue Smoke Alarms
Age Concern
Care and Repair
Flooding Support
6%
Housing
Services, Signposting and/or Referrals Provided by Village Agents
For FEBRUARY 2008
31
General Support
Adult Helpdesk
Warm and Well
4%
Volunteering
0%
4%
5%
4%
0%
Transport
0%
Other
0%
Benefits
36%
4%
Fire and Rescue Smoke Alarms
Age Concern
Care and Repair
28%
12%
1%
Flooding Support
Housing
0%
2%
32