The post Dementia awareness walk first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

There will also be a Welsh version of the page once our Welsh content is uploaded to our new website. Once this is done, I will send the link to that page aswell. In the meantime, the page can be viewed in Welsh (which also has a screen reader and audio option) via the use of our Accessibility Toolbar (Here is a link to an instructional guide: ReciteMe – A guide on how to use the accessibility toolbar on our website – Shelter Cymru).

Over the coming months, further pages will be linked to this page containing more financial support and advice. I have already shared some of this information with you previously, but we are moving away from the inclusion of PDFs on our website, so they will be republished as web pages. So please keep checking this new page for further updates.

The post New Older People’s advice page first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

It should be a really engaging event, with the Older People’s Commissioner hosting a lived experience panel, contributions around dementia and carers, information about the support available across our communities, and a Dementia Choir performing.

Most importantly, we want older people and carers themselves to be part of the event, so it would be great to get the invitation out as widely as we can across Cardiff and the Vale.

The post Senedd Older Persons Day Event first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

This means that the State Pension will continue to increase each year by the highest of inflation, average wage growth or 2.5%. I welcome that, thanks to the triple lock, the State Pension has increased by 4.1% from April 2025. It will increase by a further £575 this year and, by the end of this Parliament, annual spending on the State Pension is forecast to be £34 billion higher than in 2024-2025.

I share your concerns about pensioners who may not be receiving all the support they are entitled to. Many eligible people still miss out on Pension Credit, which provides vital extra help. That is why the UK Government launched the largest-ever Pension Credit take-up campaign shortly after taking office. These efforts have already resulted in 60,000 more awards, and they will continue over the coming months.

Importantly, receiving Pension Credit opens the door to a range of other financial assistance, including Housing Benefit, Council Tax support, help with NHS costs, assistance with fuel bills, and a free TV licence for those aged over 75. To guarantee even greater uptake in future, the administration of Pension Credit and pensioner Housing Benefit will be merged for new claimants.

To help with bills, all pensioners with incomes up to £35,000, as well as those on Pension Credit and income-related benefits, are eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. The payment is made automatically, so no one needs to take any action to receive it. On top of this, the recent Budget included measures designed to address the cost of living. Because of these changes, every household will see cuts to their bills of around £150 per year. The Warm Home Discount also provides an additional £150 rebate off bills to eligible low-income households across Great Britain, and I am glad that this scheme has been expanded to reach 2.7 million extra households. This will make a real difference.

The Welsh Government is also working to deliver on this issue. The Warm Homes Nest scheme aims to reduce the number of low-income households living in cold, damp homes. This will decarbonise and insulate homes, lowering energy bills and moving people out of fuel poverty. I know Welsh Ministers have called on Ofgem to introduce a social tariff to protect vulnerable people. Free energy savings advice is also available to all Welsh households.

We must make sure people receive the support they deserve, and I welcome that the Welsh Claim What’s Yours campaign has helped more than 36,800 people claim £10.4 million in additional income, while a record number of people have been awarded Pension Credit thanks to the UK Government’s uptake campaign. This initiative is especially relevant as it will direct the most vulnerable pensioners towards other benefits – including Winter Fuel Payments.
Kind regards,

Anna Anna McMorrin MP Member of Parliament for Cardiff North  |  Aelod Seneddol Gogledd Caerdydd    2 Codas House, 52-60 Merthyr Road, Cardiff | Caerdydd, CF14 1DJ
Constituency Office | Swyddfa’r Etholaeth: 02920 624440  Parliamentary Office | Swyddfa Seneddol: 0207 219 4307
email | ebost:  Anna.McMorrin.MP@Parliament.uk

The post Independent Age- (Case Ref: AM33466) first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

The post COPA report for July first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

• Cost of living
• Health
• Social care
• Unpaid care
• Transport and travel
• Housing
• Accessing information

The post Age Cymru 2026 Annual Survey headlines report first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

The post Your Point of View survey – six month report first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

AGEISM SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWSLETTER #TogetherAgainstAgeism  07 July 2026 Issue No. 5 Dear Member, It’s just over a year since we published our very first newsletter as a new BSG Special Interest Group (SIG). Welcome to our fifth edition! Over the year we’ve been delighted to sign up new members, get to know you through our online events, spread the word through our LinkedIn page, and feature your work and insights through the newsletters. Last month it was lovely to meet some of you in person at the BSG Annual Conference held at Oxford Brookes University. The heat was a challenge, but the symposia and conversations brought a lot of light. We’ve included an article on the hybrid symposium we held on ageism in social care. One of the special moments of the conference is the SIG ‘Marketplace’. This is where all the BSG SIGs get a chance to highlight their work and share their plans. It’s great to learn more about what the other SIGs are doing, and we’ll be following up opportunities for some joint learning and events, as we work together against ageism.

The post BSG Ageism SIG Newsletter (Issue No. 5) first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

Covenant duty – links are included below for the existing legal duty that applies to LHBs, LAs plus information about the extension.

Statutory guidance:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/armed-forces-covenant-duty-statutory-guidance

https://www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk/covenant-legal-duty/armed-forces-covenant-duty-toolkit/the-armed-forces-covenant-legal-duty-extension-what-it-means-for-the-armed-forces-community/

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Please could you also send us a brief outline on your current engagement and description of any work programmes that you have had that supported Veterans/Ex- Armed forces. Please could you share this with me and Zsanett by the end of July.

The post Information regarding the Armed Forces first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

COPA is interested in what is important to older people across Wales and how things might change across the year, which is why the survey is being repeated every two months. It takes less than ten minutes to complete the questionnaire and all responses are confidential.

The questionnaire is simply asking what issues are most important to you – if you have no experience in a particular area, we’re still interested in your opinion on what should be the most important area.

The easiest way to complete the questionnaire is to click on one of the links below, which will take you straight to the online survey.

English

https://www.surveyhero.com/c/yems3huv

Welsh

https://www.surveyhero.com/c/rfbfddap

The post Your Point of View survey July first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.