This webinar explored the challenges and opportunities for people ageing in rural and coastal places, the impact of the pandemic on rural communities and the action required to support their recovery. Find out more: https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/events/ageing-rural-place-webinar

1. Centre for Ageing Better
ageing-better.org.uk
Ageing in a rural place
A webinar exploring the challenges and opportunities
for people ageing in rural and coastal places, the
impact of the pandemic on rural communities and the
action required to support their recovery.
Thursday 15 April 2021

2. ageing-better.org.uk
Jessica Sellick,
National Centre for
Rural Health and Care

3. The challenges of delivering health
and care in rural settings

4. The pressures facing rural health care services

5. Sites deemed unavoidably small:
• St Mary’s Hospital (Isle of Wight)
• Cumberland Infirmary (Carlisle)
• West Cumberland Hospital
(Whitehaven)
• Furness General Hospital (Barrow-
in-Furness)
• Pilgrim Hospital (Boston)
• Hereford County Hospital
• Scarborough General Hospital
• North Devon District Hospital
(Barnstaple)
These trusts account for 3% of all
trusts, but almost a quarter (23%)
of the overall deficit for trusts.
Unavoidable smallness due to remoteness
(Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, NHS England)

6. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
All Other Services
ASC
ADASS Budget Survey
£520 million of additional funding is needed to meet the same
level of needs in 2020-2021, compared to 2019-2020.
2020/21 2021/22
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Are you confident that your adult social
care budget will be sufficient to meet all of
the following statutory duties for the next 2
years?
Fully confident
Partial confidence
No confidence
Unable to answer
NCRHC Survey
Spending on Adult Social Care (ASC) as a % of all
expenditure. Green line is % of population aged over
65 years.
How should we pay for social care?

7. The impact of COVID-19

9. ageing-better.org.uk
Rob Fountain
Chief Executive,
Age UK Gloucestershire

10. ageing-better.org.uk
Jan Thornton
York & North Yorkshire LEP Board member
Vice Chair, Yorkshire Food, Farming & Rural
Network
Vice Chair, Community First Yorkshire
Vice Chair, ACRE

11. Economic impact of Covid on rural and coastal areas
JAN THORNTON

12. Economic
impact of
Covid on
older
workers
– what does
this mean?
Economic recession:
Covid and Brexit related
Redundancies
Reduced working hours

13. • A larger proportion of the rural
population is over 45
• Fewer job opportunities in local
areas
•Economic objectives cost more to
deliver in rural & coastal areas
• Challenges of mobility of goods,
services and people
• Harder to access training/new
skills
• Tourism/leisure sector badly hit
The
particular
challenges in
rural and
coastal areas

14. The rural
economy at
a glance…..
• 24% or 544,000 businesses are located outside towns
• There are more businesses per person in rural areas than in
urban areas.
• They contribute 16% (£246 billion) of England’s economy in
GVA
• They are diverse in type – and include large, high-tech
businesses. It is not just agriculture, fisheries and forestry!
• Responsible for 13% of total employment (3.6 million
people). 71% of employees within rural areas are employed in
SMEs
• 21% work from home (compared with 13% in urban areas)
pre Covid
• 33% are homeworkers in rural hamlets (so good broadband
connectivity is vital) pre Covid
• many small rural businesses seek to provide vital community
values or service

15. There are
significant
new
opportunities
for rural
businesses to
provide:
• Low carbon energy, produced and stored locally,
and distributed through smart grids
• Food that is produced sustainably by efficient
farmers, and at the same time improving the
countryside for everyone to enjoy
• Carbon storage in natural sinks like soils,
hedgerows and trees to help implement the net
zero carbon agenda
• Green building materials such as timber for
structural use and fittings, and plant and wool
fibres for insulation
• Valuable therapeutic services such as using the
natural environment for care farming and social
prescribing
• Circular economy gains like growing woodlands
for sustainable energy from biomass and
anaerobic digestion

16. What are the
opportunities
post Covid?
• Aspirations to ‘grow back’
differently
• Levelling up agenda
• Agriculture Act
• Brexit
• Hospitality/leisure/tourism
sectors may bounce back well
• More flexibility/remote working
•‘Buy local’

17. ….. for
older workers
• Redundancy – not all bad?
• Time to re-evaluate:
• Change of role/employment
• (Semi)Retirement
• Work/life balance
• Accommodate caring duties
• Self- employment
• Volunteering
• Schemes available to support over
50s to retrain/upskill
• Support for newly self-employed/
start-ups

18. What the
older
workforce
has to offer:
•Valuable experience and
transferable skills
•Community enterprise
opportunities can be a response
to an ageing local population
•Fill the gaps in care provision
•Flexible working hours

19. Some useful resources:
Mid Life MOT: https://www.yourpension.gov.uk/mid-life-mot/
National Careers Service – offering support to those at risk of redundancy or recently
lost their jobs – particular focus on 50+
Advantage Coast (Scarborough & Bridlington) – Age UK run an employment support
project for 50 +
https://www.advantagecoast.org.uk/over-50s-health-well-being-and-employment/
Skills Bridges – a City & Guilds and Future Learn initiative to help workers use their
transferable skills to transition to another sector:
https://www.cityandguildsgroup.com/research/building-bridges-towards-future-jobs

20. ageing-better.org.uk
Glen Garrod
Executive Director of Adult Care
and Community Wellbeing,
Lincolnshire County Council

21. The Impact of Covid in Rural and
Coastal Communities
By
Glen Garrod
Executive Director
Adult Care & Community Wellbeing

22. • Fabulous heritage & natural landscapes
– Fens, Coast, Wolds, Market Towns, Resorts, City
• Relatively low housing and capital values
• Low crime rates
• Low levels of pollution
• Relaxed pace of life
• Dry side of the country!
Welcome to Lincolnshire

23. • Massive age shift:
– National forecast for 2080 = 44% aged 50
– Lincs in 2021 = 43.4% aged 50+
– Lincs in 2021 = 27% 50-69
• Significant inequalities across 7 Districts
– West:
• A1 / East Coast Mainline / access to E Midlands services
• More confident, often younger communities
– East Coast:
• Remote / 2 railway stations (Skegness & Boston)
• Less confident, significantly older communities
And…..

24. • Challenges = opportunities
• Accelerate & Innovate: LinCA, VET, Extra Care
• Build on strengths & expertise
– ELDC: TED Ageing Better & Age Friendly District
• Countywide alliances & appetite
– Health & Wellbeing Board and ICS
– Housing, Health & Care Delivery Group
– Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership
Why Partner?

25. • Covid wave 1 – low rates , wave 2 - higher
• Impact on care homes: mostly small providers
• 52,399 Clinically Extremely Vulnerable People
– 41,770 = 50+
– 26,567 = 70+
• Over 80,000 unpaid carers
– almost 3,000 caring 50+ hours per week
– Over 23,000 known & invited for vaccination
• Strong vaccination take-up in priority groups
Covid Recovery & Legacy

26. – strategic focus on VCS resilience
– strategic focus on vulnerable groups supported by VCS
– Joint investment in VCS infrastructure (LCC & CCG)
– Joint Strategic Asset Assessment: places, services, people
– Covid Community Action Groups – 600+ since March 2020
– Lincolnshire Volunteer Workforce
• Test & learn: care home hosts
• Digital volunteer management platform
– Digital shift: 173% increase in contact with carers
• Investment in IT kit, training & support
Connected Communities

27. • A strong history of collective endeavour
• Recognise the Voluntary & Community Sector
• Maximise individual & community resilience
• Recalibrating the future
• The importance of Place
• Messages from CQC System Review
Reflections

28. Centre for Ageing Better
ageing-better.org.uk
Ageing in a rural place
A webinar exploring the challenges and opportunities
for people ageing in rural and coastal places, the
impact of the pandemic on rural communities and the
action required to support their recovery.
Thursday 15 April 2021