Northamptonshire charity holds 26th annual general meeting

Chief Executive Christopher Duff opened Age UK Northamptonshire’s 26th Annual General with an informative presentation on the work of the charity over the past year. He explained that the charity is often the first point of contact for people needing ever increasing levels of support.

This is due to a number of topical factors, principally the aftereffects of the coronavirus pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

The AGM was attended by around fifty people in person, including Cllr Dennis Meredith, Mayor of Northampton, and Cllr Nigel Brown, Mayor of Higham Ferrers Town Council and Cllr Larry Henson, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council. Over twenty people attended on Zoom.

Chris expressed his thanks to the many local organisations, especially the parish councils and West Northamptonshire Council and North Northamptonshire Council, that support Age UK Northamptonshire. “Our AGM is an opportunity to discuss matters of mutual concern and how working together can improve later life for residents in Northamptonshire,” said Chris. The audience also heard comprehensive presentations from the managers of the Trading Department, the Social Prescribing team, the Age Well teams and the Gardening, Handyperson and Appointeeship services.

The charity’s 45-page Annual Report and Signed Accounts, which is available on their website, shows that the total number of active clients in the year April 2021 to March 2022 reduced from 15,451 at the start to 13,616 by the end of the financial year. This is mainly due to records being deactivated, either because there was no activity over three years (the majority) or due to the client being deceased. In contrast, the total of new clients was up substantially, with 3,244 new clients this year compared with 2,745 in the previous financial year. This is to be expected, given the greater difficulties caused by the coronavirus lockdowns in the previous year.

Most of the charity’s other services saw an increase in new clients, the largest increase being in the discharge support services for Kettering General Hospital (1,188 new clients), the Hospital Discharge & Community Service (1,079 new clients), Collaborative Care Team (867 new clients) and Information & Advice Service (1,003 new clients). The figures reflect that the charity’s services are accessed by people living across the county.