RYEDALE Forum for Older People held a successful meeting entitled The Faces of Our Champions on Friday at Malton & Norton Rugby Club.

The purpose of the meeting was to show the members that there are real people who can take forward ordinary older people’s concerns to the highest level.

Chairman Rob Salkeld introduced the speakers, MP Anne McIntosh, County Councillor Shelagh Marshall, who is the county’s older people’s champion and who chairs the Yorkshire Forum on Ageing and is also a member of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing, district councillor Vivienne Knaggs, the new older people’s champion for Ryedale, and County Councillor Val Arnold, the North Yorkshire older people’s champion for Ryedale.

A very lively ‘question time’ included discussions on a wide variety of topics including the lack of NHS dentists in Ryedale, free bus passes, direct payments for social care, housing including affordable housing, extra care housing and the question of why empty privately-owned houses cannot be released for use, and the attitude of the Coalition Government to the problems of delivering services to older people in rural areas.

The suggestion recently made that older people should give up their houses so that younger people could have them drew many wry comments.

All the speakers gave very informative responses and the meeting was thought to have been most useful both by the members and by the speakers who had welcomed the opportunity to address such a large and vocal group of older people.

If you would like to know more about Ryedale Forum for Older People, phone Judith Denniss on 01653 697077 or email judithdenniss@live.co.uk.