SOPA seeks to represent the issues that directly affect older people
The Scottish Older People’s Assembly (SOPA), which was previously supported by City of Edinburgh Council, has recently reformed itself as an SCIO and has gratefully established in the Edinburgh Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations office.
SOPA is an umbrella body made up of a committee of representatives from many of the leading older people’s organisations in Scotland.
We seek to be a voice for older people on matters that concern them in representations to the Scottish and Westminster governments
Tom Berney
We seek to be a voice for older people on matters that concern them in representations to the Scottish and Westminster governments.
To that end we hold an annual assembly, in recent years in the Scottish Parliament, at which delegates from many organisations from all over Scotland are able to question ministers and MSPs and discuss amongst themselves the issues they would like to see pursued as our campaign actions in the following year.
That has been a popular format but we recognised that it limited the number of people we could involve, so in the past three years we have travelled the country from Orkney, to Dumfries to Campbeltown, holding more than 30 regional meetings of older people in their own towns.
We ask them what issues they would like to raise with the governments and to list the priorities they would place on them. To ensure we are as representative as possible, we have also held assemblies with disabled, ethnic and LGBTI groups.
Naturally priorities vary in different situations – for example in rural areas they often comment that a bus pass is not much use if you don’t have a bus service! We try to ensure that the full variety of voices are heard.
This year our campaigns include poor standards of care, high cost of funerals, mental health issues for older people, the state pension, enabling older people to contribute and discrimination against older people.
The Scottish Government has recognised our efforts and involved us in several official committees determining policy on older people issues and last year and this we will provide the secretariat to the Cross Party Group on Older People, Age and Ageing.
Our approach is to try, where we can, to improve policies before they are introduced as well as raising examples or protests when existing policies or service have gone wrong.
If anyone would like to know more about SOPA and its national assembly to be held in the Scottish Parliament on Friday, 25 November, or would like us to hold a meeting in your area please contact Glenda Watt on [email protected] or visit our website www.scotopa.org.uk.
Tom Berney is chair of SOPA.
