Village Agents are in constant contact with their specific GRCC Rural Advisor on a weekly basis in order to build their knowledge base on various issues, one village agent in the Stroud area highlighted to her community the benefit of having a parish magazine; with the help of the rural advisor they were able to make this possible.
Village Agents have also been a link between the communities and the Village Hall Advisor, in the Cotswolds one community group were unable to meet in the village hall due to their hard of hearing, the village agent was able to highlight the advice and support available at GRCC and enquiries are being made to have a hearing loop installed.
Village Agents have dealt with a variety of issues and worked with numerous agencies across the county. One of the most common is the installation of smoke alarms by the Fire and Rescue Service and home improvement by agencies such as Care and Repair/Anchor Staying Put in terms of the installation of grab rails, home safety checks and gardening services. Village Agents have also signposted to Age Concern, the Pensions Service and Citizens Advice to aid older people in the filling in of forms and grant applications. For example, a village agent put an advert in the village paper. She was then contacted for a visit by one of the members of the community and subsequently arranged for a check to be run on benefit entitlement; she also contacted the Housing Association arranged for the heating to be looked at. Attendance Allowance was awarded at lower rate for the husband and higher rate for the wife. Pension Credit forms were also completed and submitted. The couple will also be able to have their Careline connected at no cost. They will be better off by £41.65 + £62.25 + potential £90.96 due to the Village Agent liaising with the relevant agencies and knowing what was available.
Progress to Date
96 of the most rurally isolated parishes were initially chosen to take part in the Village Agent scheme. As time has progressed however more parishes have been added, this has been for a number of reasons but primarily that the Village Agents, once up and running have been able to identify those neighbouring parishes with a need for a village agent and an enthusiasm to take part in the project. From May 2007 140 parishes are included under the Village Agent scheme.
After each visit a Village Agent makes, they are required to fill in a referral, 'gateway' form. The form collects demographic data, the nature of the problem and other information relevant to any follow up visit. The gateway form is then emailed to the required agency by the Village Agent for the query to be addressed.
909 older people were helped through the gateway referral system in the first seven operational months of the project, with over 9,500 contacts made with people in the communities and agencies countywide.
Please note that the Cotswold and Stroud Village Agents completed their initial training in November 2006 and Tewkesbury and Forest of Dean at the end of January 2007.
Gloucestershire
Top Issues:
Village Agents were asked to specify what were the top three issues arising within their specific cluster of parishes. In Gloucestershire as a whole, transport is the main issue with 19% of Village Agents stating this as a major issue. Pensions and benefit entitlements (17%) and minor repairs/adaptations through Care and Repair/Anchor Staying Put (14%) were also important issues
Cotswold:
- Transport
- Pensions & Benefits
- Anchor Staying Put
Stroud:
- Transport
- Gardening
- Care & Repair
Forest of Dean:
- Pensions & Benefits
- Care in the Home
- Care and Repair
Tewkesbury:
- Pensions & Benefits
- Anchor Staying Put
- Transport
- Fire Safety
Useful Documents
PDF
Village Agents for Older People - 04/09/2007 : 37Kb
PDF
Village Agents Leaflet - 04/09/2007 : 886Kb
Village Agents Competition
Village Agents would like to celebrate the contribution older people make to
life in Gloucestershire and highlight the achievements of many of our older
citizens.
We would like to receive nominations from all over the county so we can find
the Gloucestershire people who are great exponents of what can be
accomplished in later life.
Use the documents below to find out more and enter:
PDF
Village Agent Awards 2007 Information - 04/09/2007 : 14Kb
PDF
Village Agents Form - 04/09/2007 : 15Kb
Find out latest jobs for Gloucestershire Rural Community Council on their recruitment page
