Adopted at AGM on 28 September 2012
The Norwich Older People’s Forum and Working Group is committed to:
1. Listening to and taking forward issues that are important to people as they become older to the health and social care providers, statutory bodies with a responsibility for older people, local agencies that work with older people and generally raising the profile in the community of older people.
2. Reaching out to all groups and organisations that work with older people to ensure that they are central to the decision making process.
3. Encouraging intergenerational work across the Norwich area to the benefit of all concerned.
Role
4. The Norwich Older People’s Forum and Working Group aims to ensure that the voices of older people are heard and that they influence the way in which services are planned and delivered, maintaining and improving the wellbeing of older people living in and around Norwich.
Objectives
5. Promote a positive attitude to ageing by giving a voice to older people and acting as an advocate, researcher and communicator.
6. Promote the inclusion and integration of all older people in the local community.
7. Help older people from socially and/or economically excluded groups to be equally involved in the planning, development and review of services.
8. Aim for equality of access to information and co-ordinated services for older people.
9. Provide opportunities for the representatives of older people to meet together to promote information exchange and networking.
10. Enhance communication between organisations and potential users of their services by strengthening existing links with Clinical Commissioning Groups, District Councils, Norfolk County Council, the NHS Trusts, the private sector, voluntary sector and other agencies.
11. Contribute a Norwich voice to the Norfolk Older People’s Strategic Partnership Board and to the Norfolk Older People’s Forum and the Norfolk Council on Ageing.
Norwich Older People’s Forum
12. Norwich will have a regular older people’s forum which will have an open membership and encourage older residents, particularly the more isolated ones, to contribute their opinions. Meetings will debate issues of current interest and concern to older people in the area.
13. The Forum will meet at least three times per year. At the last meeting in each year the Working Group will be elected.
Norwich Older People’s Working Group
14. The Chair, who will be an older person and a resident of Norwich, will be elected from amongst the Working Group membership at their next following meeting.
15. The Working Group will be empowered by the Older People’s Forum to act on their behalf to take decisions forward and oversee their implementation.
16. The Working Group will meet at least six times per year between Forum meetings.
17. The Working Group will have representatives from a wide range of organisations working with and for older people, together with a wide range of older people. Older people should be in the majority if possible, and should come from a good geographical spread across the city and include minority groups. The minimum total number should be thirteen.
18. There should be the possibility of co-opting up to four additional members.
19. Failure to attend three consecutive Working Group meetings without giving a reasonable apology or without sending a representative will result in the member being dismissed.
Decision making process
Forum
20. Forum decisions will, wherever possible, be made by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached then a vote will be taken - majority decides. The Chair will not take part in this vote but will cast the deciding vote in the event of a tie.
Working Group
21. The Working Group will ensure that appropriate advice and guidance has been sought and that account is taken of financial and human resource implications.
22. Some decisions may need to be taken outside of the Working Group meeting. If so, decisions must be made within the context of the aims and objectives and the decision will be reported to the next Working Group meeting.
Conduct of business
Forum
23. The Forum will work to an agenda, which the Chair will co-ordinate and make available through a variety of channels at least 5 working days prior to the meeting.
24. The Forum and Working Group will be democratic, non-sectarian, not affiliated to or connected directly with any political party or political organisation, and will be non-profit making.
25. Norwich City Council will support the Forum by servicing meetings unless other arrangements are adopted.
Working Groups
26. The Working Group is covered by the same regulations as the Forum.
Finance
27. The Forum will seek to attract appropriate resources to support its work.
28. The Forum will have the power to raise funds, to invite and receive contributions, accept donations and legacies whilst remaining an independent voluntary body.
29. The financial year will go from 1 April to 31 March.
30. A statement of accounts will be presented to the Annual General Meeting.
31. The volunteer members of the Working Group will be entitled to claim reasonable out of pocket expenses that their work has directly incurred.
Dissolution
32. If a session of the Forum decides by a two thirds majority that it is necessary to dissolve the Forum, a motion for dissolution will be put to a special meeting and shall require the approval of two thirds of those present. Any assets will be transferred to a charitable organisation with similar objectives.
