THE concept of one-stop shopping is to be extended to services for older people under a revolutionary package of reforms enabling pensioners to claim benefit and receive help from a range of agencies operating as a single unit.
The project, called Link-Age, aims to put an end to the frustrations caused by the current fragmented welfare system, which often requires older people to contact many organisations and provide the same information and documents over and over to get the help and support they need.
While existing services, such as social care, benefits and housing will continue to be run separately, they will be required to operate as a single network in local areas.
The measures, outlined yesterday in a consultation document, form an important part of the Government’s blueprint for welfare reform and follow the success of the Sure Start programme for children under five and their families, the New Deal for Communities and the introduction of a single assessment process for health and social care needs.
Malcolm Wicks, the Pensions Minister, said that the project would enable the welfare state to adopt a more “customer-focused approach”.
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Stephen Ladyman, the Health Minister, said: “This is an important step towards providing local help and advice that will enable older people to live healthy, independent lives.”
The ministers said that they also wanted the reforms to help promote neighbourliness and community support.
The consultation document is seeking ways in which milkmen, postal workers, utility companies and others with regular contact with people in the community can be encouraged “to be on the look-out for older people needing help”. A key feature of the reforms, which have been piloted in the South West of England and London, will be the development of “joint t eams”.
Instead of older people being visited by both the pensions service and the council over benefit-related matters, a member of the joint team will visit to help them fill in forms so that they can claim benefits and services in one move.
New data-sharing agreements between different agencies will be developed so that when an older person enters the system (for example, by claiming one benefit) relevant information can be shared with other agencies so that all of their requirements can be identified and the older person only has to give the information once.
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A big problem in delivering these services has traditionally been very low take-up rates. Up to £770 million of council tax benefit is unclaimed by older people every year.