Older people’s charity Age UK Lancashire officially launched their new Charter for Later Life at a special event yesterday. Held at their Wellbeing Resource Centre in Ormskirk, over 80 people attended, including local older people, councillors, partner organisations and special guests Rosie Cooper MP and Mayor Liz Savage.

The Charter has been developed by the charity over the last 10 months with input from older peoples groups, representatives and organisations.



Alison Read, Engagement Director at Age UK Lancashire told QLocal: “We wanted to develop a Charter which all of our staff and volunteers can commit to as well as our partners and friends.

"It cuts through the politics, the funding regimes, the noise of systems and processes and makes a simple and clear set of commitments to those who will always be at the heart of everything we do, those in later life”.

In difficult financial times for the charity sector, due to reduced funding and grant opportunities, Age UK Lancashire felt it was important to show their commitment to older people by outlining what they stand for and believe in and how they will continue to strive to support people from all backgrounds, cultures, minority groups and areas of Lancashire and North Sefton.

Chief Executive of Age UK Lancashire, Stephanie Tufft, who was there to launch the Charter, added: “We have a clear direction and know what our responsibilities are to older people. The way we once worked has changed and we have to develop new relationships and discover new way to raise funds in order for us to engage with and support as many older people across the county as possible. I believe our Charter highlights the work we already do really well and goes a step further to show our future commitments to the older population”.

As part of the event guests and attendees were given the opportunity to sign up to in support of the Charter and also find out about all the services the charity currently provides in Lancashire.

Alison Read: “The turnout has been fantastic and we would like to thank Rosie Cooper and Liz Savage for coming along to support us. Many of our partner organisations and local councillors were also here and I think that shows what an important piece of work this has been”.

The charity continues to work hard to provide many vital services and look for opportunities to fund new projects. Information about the services and the Charter can be found at www.ageuklancs.org.uk or by calling 0300 303 1234.