Age Friendly Strategy and Action Plan Equality Screening

S75 Equality And Good Relations Screening Form

General Information:   Strategy and Plan

 
Is this an existing, revised or a new function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance?   New

Operational Area:  Leisure and Development

Title:  Age-Friendly Strategy and Action Plan

Brief Summary:

Development and delivery of Age-Friendly Strategy & Action plan for the Causeway Coast and Glens area.

What is it trying to achieve? (intended aims and outcomes)

Negative narratives on ageing tend to dominate in society.  The Causeway Coast and Glens Age-Friendly Strategy is a recognition that our ageing population should be celebrated for the wealth of skills, experience, and knowledge it brings to our society.  

Aligning closely with A Better Future Together, the community plan for the Borough, this Age-Friendly Strategy and Action plan is based on wide community engagement.  The Council and its partners will take forward a range of actions which will seek to improve the quality of life of our older citizens, focusing on the themes which people told us mattered most or areas where they wanted to see the most improvement.  

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council agreed to move forward in striving to become more Age-Friendly.

For the initial three-year period of the plan, the focus of the plan is on achieving those outcomes that people told us mattered most in their lives, or where they would like to see greatest improvement.  

Agreed outcomes are detailed below:
Outcomes Link to WHO Age-Friendly Domains Community Plan Link
(Older) people in the Borough have opportunities to improve health and wellbeing and can access appropriate services
Community Support and Health Services All people of the Causeway Coast and Glens benefit from improved physical health and mental wellbeing
Social Participation
Outdoor spaces and buildings
(Older) people in the Borough can access suitable forms of transport Transportation
The Causeway Coast and Glens area has physical infrastructures and facilities that further growth, access, and connections
Social Participation
Community Support and Health Services
(Older) people in the Borough are supported to live independently, safely, and efficiently
Housing All people of the Causeway Coast and Glens can live independently as far as possible and access support services when they need it
Communication and Information
Community Support and health services
(Older) people in the Borough can access relevant knowledge and information
Communication and Information The Causeway Coast and Glens area promotes and supports positive relationships
Social Participation
Respect and Social Inclusion
Community Support and Health Services
Civic Participation and Employment
 

Who owns and who implements each element of the function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance?

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council

Other policies etc. which have a bearing on this function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance?

Strategies:
- NI Programme for Government
- Active Ageing Strategy 2016–22
- Making Life Better 2013–2023
- Mental Health Strategy 2021–31
- Active Living More People, More Active, More of the Time, The Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for Northern Ireland
- NI Housing Executive Older Peoples Housing Strategy 2021/22 to 2026/27
- A Better Future Together Community Plan for Causeway Coast and Glens
- Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Corporate Strategy
- Global age-friendly cities: a guide

Studies, Publications, Statistics and Guidance:
- Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency – Census 2021
- Queen’s University Belfast’s Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA). Run by Queen’s Centre for Public Health since 2014, NICOLA aims to understand what it is like to grow older in NI by gathering data from a representative sample of people aged 50 and over.
- Causeway Coast and Glens Age-Friendly Survey 2021
 

Available Evidence

Evidence to help inform the screening process may take many forms.  Public authorities should ensure that their screening decision is informed by relevant data.
What evidence/information (both qualitative and quantitative have you gathered to inform this function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance?  Specify details for relevant Section 75 categories.

It is proposed that all Section 75 categories will be considered via:
• Quantitative evidence has been sourced via the NI Census in 2021 
• Quantitative evidence has been sourced via Queen’s University Belfast’s Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA). Run by Queen’s Centre for Public Health since 2014, NICOLA aims to understand what it is like to grow older in NI by gathering data from a representative sample of people aged 50 and over.
• Quantitative and qualitative evidence has been sourced via the Causeway Coast and Glens Age-Friendly Survey 2021
In addition, the Age-Friendly Strategy and Action Plan was developed through co-design to ensure input from older residents.  
The co-design process included: 
- Engagement workshops with the Age-friendly Alliance and Age-friendly Forum
- Engagement with regional and local age-sector organisations and organisations whose services users include older people living in Causeway Coast and Glens
- Focus groups and meetings with statutory, community and voluntary organisations 
- An online survey with open, narrative style questions which encouraged older people to share their experiences and opinions.
- Results from a quantitative survey that Causeway Coast and Glens had undertaken in 2021 
- Postcard surveys on age-friendly themes, which were distributed through the Alliance and Forum members as well as public buildings, such as community and leisure centres and libraries.
- Focus groups and drop-in sessions in each of the Council’s seven District Electoral Areas (DEAs)
- Creative workshops and other targeted engagement with groups who might otherwise have not been heard.