This age addition increase was introduced in September 1971 by Sir Keith Joseph, a Conservative MP. He said it was to recognise ‘albeit in a small way the special claims of very elderly people who need help rather more than others. As they grow old their possessions wear out and they need help for necessary […]
Conference motions
Conference is concerned over the increasing use of electric powered motorised 2-wheeled scooters (e-scooters) on roads and pavements throughout the United Kingdom. Conference notes that, although versions of e-scooters first appeared on London streets as long ago as 1916, It is only recently that steps are being taken to have them formally classified as motor […]
During the period of the pandemic many of us have grown used to attending meetings, talks and conferences via the internet using such intermediaries as Zoom. Whilst not matching the intimacy and desirability of a head-to-head meeting, they have allowed active if limited participation to continue. For some retired members the ageing process in its […]
Conference notes that the Government announced earlier this year that there had been an underpayment of up to £3 billion in total of pensions for some who reached SPA before April 2016 and fall into certain categories. These sums affect thousands of women and some men who were underpaid their state pensions and not all […]
This conference notes with concern the findings of the survey carried out in December 2020 by the Birmingham UNISON Retired Members Section, that during the pandemic it has been increasingly difficult to access GP services. As the survey has indicated, there is a major problem with the more vulnerable elderly section of society – where […]
Conference notes that – 1)Public service pension schemes pay pensions to widows of male scheme members in respect of contributions since 1972; 2)As a result of a Supreme Court decision in 2017, scheme members’ surviving same – sex spouses and civil partners, irrespective of gender, are now treated the same as widows; but 3)Widowers of […]
Conference notes that in 2018/19, the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) gender pension gap – the percentage difference in average gross pension income of women pensioners compared to men – stood at 40.3%. Conference also notes this was the second year running the gap had widened. An earlier trend of gradually diminishing pension inequality appears to have […]
Conference notes that the deadlines for submission of motions and of amendments this year were 12th June and 7th August respectively. Conference also notes that the Report of the National Retired Members Committee (the Committee) including action arising from 2018 Retired Members Conference (the Report) was published on the Retired Members pages of the UNISON […]
Conference notes that since November 2000, those over 75 have been entitled to a free television licence and that until 2017/18 this was wholly funded by the government. Conference also notes that it is now partly government funded, and that the funding for the scheme will become entirely a matter for the BBC from June […]
Conference notes that, whoever wins the Tory Party leadership race, there is a possibility of an early general election. In any case, the next one has to be in 2022 at the latest. Conference is extremely perturbed at noises coming from the Government about saving loads more money by axing the benefits older people receive […]
Conference notes that the Government has been promising a Green Paper on Social Care since 2017 and that, to date, nothing has been produced. Conference further notes that Social Care is now in crisis and deemed by many to be unsustainable in its current form. The Government’s approach to this crisis has been to put […]
Conference notes with serious concern the June 2018 report of the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland (COPNI) into Dunmurry Manor Care Home and believes that the abuse and neglect of residents in the home that it details is both shocking and appalling. Council notes that COPNI began its investigation into Dunmurry Manor after […]
Breast and bowel cancers are two of the biggest cancer killers in the United Kingdom (UK). There are around 10,000 deaths from the former and 16,500 from the latter. Across the different parts of the UK upper age limits for breast and bowel cancer screening are routinely set by the relevant health authorities. This motion […]
Conference expresses its deep concern that the suicide of an 81 year old pensioner left with no money because the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) wrongly stopped her State Pension and Winter fuel allowance because of changes to her pension credit entitlement. She had only £5 when she died. Older people often cannot easily […]
It is acknowledged that younger people are facing significant falls in living standards; however, this is not as a consequence of older people stockpiling all the wealth, as suggested by the House of Lords Committee on Intergenerational Fairness and Provision (April 2019). On 25th April 2019 the above committee called upon the Government to: “Take […]