Agenda item

To provide an update on the development of Age-Friendly Brent, a borough-wide, resident-led initiative aimed at improving the quality of life for older people.

The Board received a presentation from Rita Nath-Dongre (Elders Voice), Fay Austin (Elders Voice) and Tony Burch (Age-Friendly Champion) which provided an update on the development of Age-Friendly Brent, a borough-wide, resident-led initiative aimed at improving the quality of life of older people. In presenting the update, the following key points were raised:

·       To date, Age-Friendly Brent had undertaken engagement with older residents and allies through conversations and focus groups, and joined the UK Network of Age-Friendly Communities. A Part-time Age-Friendly Project Co-ordinator had been recruited in July 2025 to help drive the agenda forward, and supported the launch of an Age-Friendly Survey which was circulated in September 2025. Age-Friendly Brent had then successfully officially launched in November 2025 and recruited Age-Friendly Ambassadors made up of local residents championing the voice of older people. An Age-Friendly Brent Newsletter had been developed to keep key stakeholders informed of the movement, and the Action Strategy and Action Plan for 2026-2028 had been drafted and included in the agenda papers alongside the report.

·       Some of the remaining challenges Age-Friendly Brent hoped to address were; accessible and reliable transport; GP, Care and support service access; digital exclusion and; outdoor safety including uneven pavements and lack of public toilets and resting spots on high streets.

·       The Strategy focused on creating more opportunities for older people to take part in cultural activities, physical activities, lifelong learning and community life in order to support both mental and physical wellbeing and enable older adults to stay active, connected and independent as they aged.

·       The project was guided by principles of co-design with older people, equity and inclusion, accessibility, prevention and independence and partnership delivery. Priorities were around accessible transport, outdoor spaces and buildings, community support and health services, social participation and housing. Underpinning all activity would be digital inclusion and communication.

·       Some of the actions due to be undertaken to achieve those priorities by March 2027 included; digital skills sessions delivered across the borough; pavement walkabout audits completed and reported; rest and toilet community pilot scheme launched; campaign launched for the removal of restrictions affecting travel concessions; audit of bus stopping and boarding practice piloted; Age-Friendly features in local publications and events; and an Age-Friendly councillor representative identified.

·       The Board was asked to support the strategy implementation and ensure support across Council departments and partners for an Age-Friendly approach in Brent, identify an Ageing Well Champion within the Council to work with the Cabinet, Chief Executive, Leader and other councillors on Age-Friendly initiatives, and consider ways to embed this approach into business as usual for all relevant partners going forward.

The Chair thanked colleagues for their presentation and invited contributions from those present. The following points were made:

·       The Chair expressed that he was pleased by the nature of the priorities identified by Age-Friendly Brent, which he described as viable, practical and representative of the voice of older residents in Brent. He recognised that many priorities were not unexpected, and there would now be a real expectation for implementation of the objectives. As such, he emphasised the importance of public bodies working together, listening to residents, and demonstrating that some of those reasonable expectations laid out could be delivered by public bodies. He cautioned there was a risk of losing trust in public organisations and the system if some of these asks were not taken forward, as residents saw this as an opportunity for a true partnership between less heard groups of people and the wider system. He added that the newly elected administration would be putting together a new Borough Plan which would be a good opportunity to ensure the work of the Age-Friendly Network was prioritised within that.

·       Councillor Knight commended the work and in particular highlighted the success of the first senior digital hub session held in Harlesden Library, which had been well attended. She added that a significant number of attendees had also joined the library that day and had looked to learn more about e-learning resources in the library.

·       The Board asked whether any specific locations had been identified for the high street toilet project. Tony Burch explained that KOVE – Kilburn Older Voices Exchange – had been trailblazers in this area, encouraging 15 businesses in Kilburn high streets to sign up to allow local residents use of their toilets with posters in windows offering toilet use. Age-Friendly Brent had met with KOVE who had provided advice and guidance on the toilet scheme, and Brent was now using that model to introduce a similar scheme, beginning with Harlesden and then looking to expand that wider following the learning of that pilot. He advised that the project was concentrated on high streets because lack of toilet facilities was a reason people stayed away from high streets, and this was a way for the whole community to come together and consider what added value to the high street and build communities.

·       Board members asked whether there had been any outreach to retired branch members of local trade unions who were often active in the campaigning space, such as the campaign against the ending of winter fuel allowances. Tony Burch agreed it would be useful to reach out to Brent Trade Union colleagues, and Fay Austin added that one of the Age-Friendly Ambassadors was a member of a trade union.

·       Board members emphasised the importance of digital inclusion and asked whether those involved in the project and those who had been engaged had raised issues in that space. Tony Burch confirmed that those they had engaged predictably raised digital exclusion as an issue and that the strength of feeling was apparent across all stakeholders they had spoken to. Age-Friendly Brent had advised Council services to include a phone number as well as digital contact information wherever possible. The digitisation of the NHS was also a cause for concern for many older people, particularly as face to face contact and continuity of care was very important for older people. He added that there were several reasons older people may not have access to technology, including lack of broadband and equipment. The Hubs were a good resource for teaching people how to access digital services and helping with particularly critical issues. The strength of feeling around digital exclusion was why Age-Friendly Brent had included digital inclusion and access as a priority running through all the various workstreams.

·       The Board challenged partners present and other public bodies as to how they would listen to what had been said by older people in Brent, particularly in relation to supporting digital access. Simon Crawford (Deputy Chief Executive, LNWH) offered to arrange a session for older people and other digitally excluded individuals on using the NHS app and how that could be used to book appointments, access records and review outcomes of consultations. Rachel Crossley (Corporate Director Service Reform and Strategy, Brent Council) advised that she would be happy to meet with Age-Friendly Brent to nominate leads for each of the different priorities and themes and convene a workshop around this. She added that it would be important to consider how future arrangements aligned with the new administration and Borough Plan.

In concluding the discussion, the Chair thanked representatives from Age-Friendly Brent for their presentation and welcomed the early priorities produced. He hoped public services at the appropriate level learned from those priorities and considered how they were incorporated into future planning, ensuring older residents were considered in everything they were delivering.