A HAMMERSMITH project to help older Londoners gain the IT skills and confidence to combat age discrimination in the workplace is to close.

The ‘Third Age Foundation’, which has helped more than 6,000 people during its 20-year history, has decided to close its doors in the face uncertainties over future funding.

London’s Green MEP Jean Lambert joined Hammersmith and Fulham Mayor Councillor Frances Stainton at an award ceremony for the last batch of successful students.

Speaking after the event, Ms Lambert said: “It’s such a shame to see such a valuable organisation close its doors for the last time.

“Third Age has played a vital role in helping vulnerable and unemployed older Londoners back into the workplace – and I hope that other organisations will carry on this work in the future, and that Third Age’s financial backers, including the European Social Fund and London Councils will continue to support their work.

“As more and more councils cut their small grants programmes in the face of Government cuts to local authority budgets it is becoming harder and harder for small, community-based NGOs to secure the funding they need – and as a society we will need to take a long, hard look at the way this sort of group is funded in future.”

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Speaking at a conference entitled ‘Invisible communities: Working with older people from Europe and beyond’ and organised by Age UK and King’s College London, Ms Lambert said: “There is a need for clear and accurate information so that people can make the appropriate choices and ensure they know, for example, how to access their full pension entitlements from EU countries where they have lived and worked.
“Latest census data show there are more than 100,000 older Europeans from outside the UK living in London alone – and we know very little about them or their needs.

“As we move towards personalisation of social care for older people it’s vital that everyone living in the capital gets the help they need to access all the care to which they are entitled to enable them to live in dignity.

“That means making migrants a little less invisible – and ensuring Government cuts aren’t eroding social care budgets at exactly the time more investment is needed to tackle the isolation and language issues preventing some older migrants from getting the care they need.”

Ms Lambert made her comments as she address more than 100 London social workers and older activists at the conference, alongside a range of academics and social care bosses, trying to answer the question: ‘Does London work for older Europeans?’

She added: “This year is the Year of the EU Citizen, a concerted effort to ensure that all EU citizens, whether French living in London or Londoners living in Spain, are aware of their rights and know how to claim them.”

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The Forum will question Jean on her areas of her work and life as a Member of the European Parliament as well as pressing local and European issues at their monthly meeting at Woolwich Town Hall from 11am.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Jean, Co-President of the European Parliament Intergroup on Ageing, said: “I am delighted to be invited to address the Greenwich Pensioners’ Forum on my role as the Green MEP for London. For many people, the workings of the European Parliament and the role of an MEP remain a mystery. I hope that today’s event will help explain some aspects of the decision-making process that takes place between  Brussels and the UK and which go on to have an important impact on our day to day lives.”

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The European Year for Active Ageing will look to create more opportunities for older people to continue working, to stay healthy longer and to continue to contribute to society by volunteering, reinforced by specific goals so that real achievements can be made during the year itself.

Jean, Co-President of the European Parliament Intergroup on Ageing, said: “Society is awash with negative stereotypes of older generations. All too often, older people are perceived as vulnerable, isolated and as a financial burden weighing down younger generations and challenging sustainable public finances.  We must do all we can to turn around this prevailing attitude to ensure that older people are treated with the respect they deserve while meeting the needs they have.

“The European Year for Active Ageing presents Member States with a real opportunity to recognise and build upon the indispensable contribution that older people make to society as well as foster intergenerational solidarity.  With determination and perseverance, we can ensure that 2012 leaves a lasting legacy of support for, and from, older people for years to come.”

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Presented by acclaimed theatre company iceandfire, which explores human rights stories through performance, the production gives a voice to Britain’s older generation who have struggled to retain their identity and dignity in a youth-focused society. The play was produced as part of the company’s Outreach project, Actors for Human Rights in collaboration with Age UK .

Jean, who is a patron of iceandfire and Co-president of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Ageing, said:

“All too often people are overlooked, undervalued and disregarded because of their age, with far too many pensioners living in poverty and isolation. London in particular is a major offender in terms of age discrimination, with more than 60 per cent of older residents experiencing ageism of some form [1].

“We need to turn around this prevailing attitude in our culture to ensure that citizens should be treated with the respect they deserve, however old they may be and by innovative arts companies such as iceandfire engaging in this important discussion we can really push forward the debate.”

Co-artistic director of the iceandfire, Sara Masters, who wrote the script based on interviews with the protagonists, said:

“It’s ridiculous that we lump this huge, diverse group of people together and call them ‘older people’ as though it is a one size fits all. How can this label describe a group that ranges from sixty-year-olds holding down full time work, to 100-year-olds who live in residential care? There are many issues about how we treat people who fall in to this group in the UK, I hope Getting On humanises some of them.”

After the launch, the script will be available as part of iceandfire’s Outreach project. Groups can request a rehearsed reading of any of their Outreach performances, for little or no cost. For more information, go to http://iceandfire.co.uk/

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The proposal now appears likely to be adopted during the Swedish Presidency of the EU, following last week’s commitment by the Swedish government to do so.

Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, Co-President of the cross-party Intergroup on Ageing and Member of the Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights, commented:

“I am very proud that we succeeded in getting a Parliament majority to support this extension of legal protection against discrimination beyond the labour market.

“This is a long overdue victory for the millions of people across Europe at risk of discrimination on grounds of their age, disability, sexual orientation or faith or belief.

“Despite the obvious benefits of greater equality in all areas of society, it has taken months of hard work to win support for the new legislation in the European Parliament. In the face of external pressure, I am delighted that a clear majority voted for these new rules.

“However, I regret that many in the PPE/ED Group felt unable to vote for the proposals. I believe this shows we still have some way to go in developing a Europe of real equality.”
Notes to Editors

(1) Votes: For 363/Against 226/Abstentions 64

(2) EPP/ED Group is the centre-right group in the European Parliament, representing the Christian Democrats and, currently, the British Conservatives.

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Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London, has condemned the European Commission’s apparent decision to end its plans to protect people against discrimination on grounds of age and sexual orientation.

Having committed to bringing forward a comprehensive proposal on a range of discrimination grounds this year, the Commission now appears to be backtracking, suggesting that it will focus only on disability.

Ms Lambert has been working with the Commission, NGOs and other MEPs to develop an anti-discrimination directive to protect against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, age, religion or belief and disability.

However, the Commission is concerned that a “horizontal directive” would not be supported by all member states, which could be problematic because unanimity would be required in council to approve the proposal. Instead the proposed new directive will deliver protection on grounds of disability alone with recommendations regarding discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, age and religion or belief.

Jean Lambert MEP, co-president of the Intergroup on Ageing and member of the Intergroups on Disability and Gay and Lesbian Rights said:

“This decision is a real blow to the protection of many groups experiencing discrimination in the European Union. The directive is being held back by the most conservative countries and those, like the UK, who have progressive laws on this issue, have failed to push for protection across the EU.

“Age and LGBT campaigners are sorely disappointed by the lack of leadership that the UK has taken, instead having chosen to develop its own legislation outside of the European process. This now leaves UK citizens open to discrimination across Europe and little hope of a horizontal directive coming back to the table in the short-term.

“Along with my colleagues who fought for this directive in the first place, I will continue to demand that this situation is reviewed with the intention of developing a directive covering all types of discrimination as soon as possible.”

Jean Lambert is also a member of the Social Affairs Committee which called for a directive of the grounds of sexual orientation only a month ago; the seventh time the European Parliament has issued such a call.

EU legislation already exists to protect from discrimination on grounds on gender, race and ethnic origin.

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“Today’s meeting is important. Climate change is a fact of life – now, not just for our children or grandchildren, it is starting to affect us now.

Phil Thornhill has already spoken about what is happening. He is an amazing person and shows us all the power of the individual to change attitudes and make things happen. There is a general consensus that climate change is under way. The UK is the world’s 8th largest emitter of carbon dioxide: London produces 8% of the UK’s emissions and we are responsible for a lot more through products we import: when we complain about China’s growth in emissions we should just think about how much of that is from exports.

There may be some disagreement about the level of man-made contribution or we may hear it said that “well, it’s happened before” – perhaps, but not at this speed and not with a massive human population around to watch the affect. It is also not a neat, linear process that is gradually unfolding. Already, scientists are having to remodel their assumptions about the melting of huge ice masses as the process quickens. At the moment, the general view is that we have up to about ten years to possibly hold the temperature gain to less than 2¢ª increase on 1990 figures.

Last Thursday, I hosted a meeting addressed by Lance Simmens, one of Al Gore’s 1000 climate change “messengers”. One of the images he presented was of Glacier Park in the States: this could now be called “the Park formerly known as Glacier”, so dramatic was the disappearance over the last few decades. I’m sure that many of us in this room have noticed smaller changes. I was in my garden on Saturday – making use of renewable solar and wind energy to dry my washing (I had pegged it out on the line – something strangely banned on some estates in London) and found myself picking blackberries in early July. Every cookery book I have which gives seasonal recipes puts blackberries in the autumn section – well, not any more. It’s one small way in which our assumptions are changing.

Cities are of increasing importance in tackling climate change. By 2030, two thirds of the world’s population could be living in cities so it is important that cities are increasingly making links, for example through ICLEI which brings together some 650 cities worldwide. Delhi is one of the most recent members, Leicester and Bristol joined up some time ago and have the title of sustainable city. I am sure the Mayor will talk later about his C40 initiative and his recent visit to New York.

We are used to thinking in terms of older people and fuel poverty and the possibility of hypothermia – where the UK shamefully led the old EU 15 in terms of cold-related deaths but I want to talk a bit today, too, about the new challenge of heat.

We know that temperatures in the city tend to be higher than in surrounding rural areas and this is known as the “heat island” effect. This can be further affected if there is a lack of green zones – so London’s green spaces, including our gardens, are of vital importance. A recent research document for the European Commission pointed out that privatised spaces risk being low in green space and trees – you can probably think of your own examples, so this is an important issue for the planning process.

As temperatures rise and we see more sustained hot spells, this temperature difference can have several effects including:
i) an increase in the number of excess deaths, particularly of vulnerable people
ii) a reduction in the comfort or urban residents (with knock-on effects on their productiveness and the urban economy)
iii) an increased demand for air-conditioners, thus increasing energy requirement and further exacerbating climate change

You might remember that in the extremely hot summer of 2003, we saw the premature deaths of between 27,000 and 50,000 people, many in their own homes. The health services of some countries, not least France, were totally unprepared for such an extreme event – but we know that extreme weather events are a likely effect of climate change.

The NHS now has a leaflet explaining how to behave in such temperatures and countries including the UK, Germany and France have introduced a “heat watch” (in the UK this runs from June 1st to September) to help the public and various services to respond. Indeed, France was so shocked at the number of deaths during the August holiday that a national plan for heatwaves is activated every summer including a census of risk groups within every town that are provided with emergency equipment.

Who are the vulnerable groups when the temperature mounts?
According to the NHS, these include:
– older people
– people on certain medication (diuretics, for example)
– people with a serious chronic condition, particularly breathing or heart problems
– people with mobility problems

Others include the overweight ! Babies and young children are also considered vulnerable so, if you act as carers for grandchildren, you both need to stay out of the sun between 11.00 and 15.00 and follow the other advice.

Given that London is a world city, and looking around this room, I am sure we can learn a lot from each other about keeping cool. I am looking forward to the introduction of a siesta period. We need to learn the signs of heatstroke and how to react.

Public drinking fountains will become as important as public toilets.

Increasing temperatures are likely to have other effects. We already know that air quality can deteriorate when sunlight and high temperatures react with other pollutants such as nitrous oxide to produce low-level ozone. Those with respiratory problems are advised to stay in doors and outdoor activity should be restricted, as it can damage lung tissue. This is why it is important not to exceed EU air quality standards and why low-emission zones are to be welcomed.

There is also some concern that diseases currently restricted by temperature, as it were, will begin to extend – insects spread their range and temperatures no longer kill certain bacteria. My “climate change “guest said that diseases the USA thought it had seen gone are now reappearing, like West Nile virus, transmitted by mosquitoes: this also exists in some part of Europe. We are already seeing a small increase in tick-borne diseases within Europe. It is now useful to read the travel health advice before going on trips as things are starting to change.

Food poisoning also tends to go up in hot weather. We also know that London suffered four dry winters in a row, threatening major water shortages so the torrential rain has at least done some good and we haven’t experienced the 37” in 24 hours that fell in parts of India. No system can cope adequately with that. But we are likely to see more flash floods (and higher insurance bills, if you can get it) – hence the need for the new sewage pipe under the Thames and the need not to concrete over our gardens, as the Assembly scrutiny on the issue concluded.

So we need to think as carefully about how we plan for heat as we do for cold. How will we keep our care homes and our hospitals cool? How do we design our public spaces for hot weather – tarmac is no longer the answer. How can we do this without using more energy?

We know how to make our houses warmer for less money (I’m sure the Mayor will mention his insulation programme) and I know some local councils are doing a lot more than others to help people take up the cash already available through the Warm Homes and Decent Homes programmes – although it would help if their insulation standards aligned! London’s greenhouse gas emissions are higher from housing than they are from transport (if we leave out the expansion of the aviation industry and we really have to… leave it out, that is…).

Climate change is an issue for all of us. The situation is serious but not hopeless. We can turn this around but it is a major challenge because it requires co-operation on a global scale and action at every level from the individual onwards.

Each individual is important and there are positive gains to be had: saving money on your energy bills is positive; living somewhere cool in summer, warm in winter is positive; breathing clean air is positive and so on. Being energy efficient means you are now up-to-the-minute climate conscious and not a miserable, penny-pinching old….

Many of you will have family and friends in many different parts of the world and can help spread the message about how important it is to act. You can relay their information about what changes are happening in Somalia, India, Australia and make the links worldwide..

Group action is important when your local faith group takes action to increase energy efficiency, for example (the Churches has have a great booklet full of ideas); your local street can get together in its own CRAG to see how you can help each other reduce your carbon footprint; your local social clubs can source free energy-efficient light bulbs etc.

But individual and group action is also positive because it strengthens your position when you demand action from your local council; your energy supplier (who is supposed to help you increase your energy efficiency); your shopping centre; the huge office block at the end of the street that leaves their lights on all night etc. But, most importantly, your politicians.

We are the people who make the big decisions, about transport systems, energy systems, efficient levels for appliances, who decide the budgets for home insulation schemes etc. We are the people involved in shaping international agreements: you need to make it very clear to all of us that you will not vote for people who will not take this enormous challenge and responsibility seriously.

Please use your power. It is your challenge too.”

i Urban Planning and Construction Sectoral Support: Ecofys BV for the European Climate Change Programme Contract Ref: 070501/2006/432780/MAR/C2
ii ibid

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UK Green MEP Jean Lambert, who is Vice-President of the cross party Parliamentary Intergroups on Ageing and Anti-racism and Diversity, and is a member of the Intergroups on Disability and Gay and Lesbian Rights, has welcomed 2007 as a chance to highlight equal opportunities for all.

Speaking after the intergroups meeting in Strasbourg today Jean said:
“It is essential that we make this year as effective as possible from the grassroots all the way through to the European Parliament.  EU research shows that too many people either don’t know equality legislation exists or what their rights are.  It is vital that we use this year to make people aware of the rights that they do have.

“Across the EU some minority groups are more protected than others.  In general there are more rights of protection on gender, race and ethnicity than over disability, sexual orientation, faith and belief.  We now need to establish an ‘equality of equalities’ – a legislation to protect everyone equally.”

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The strategy aims to challenge the discrimination and negative perceptions of older people and to empower London’s diverse groups of older people to fully make use of the opportunities offered by the city.

Entelechy Arts, a theatre group of older Londoners, based in Southwark, performed a short play ‘City tales’ at the launch, challenging such negative perceptions. Speaking after the event Jean, who is co President of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Ageing, said; “The play we saw this evening really highlighted and brought to life a number of issues facing older women across London and the rest of Europe today.  The performance was well received by the Parliament and evoked interest from a number of EU Member States.

“Everyone is entitled to fair treatment and equal rights regardless of their age yet older women are all too often discriminated against.  Many older women care for their grandchildren and other relatives on a daily basis as well as campaigning for fair treatment and they should receive recognition for this.

“The launch of the Mayor of London’s Older Peoples Strategy brings together the EU’s Week of Regions and we now look forward to the launch of the EU Commissions report on demographic change.”

ENDS

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