Responses received from 40 Councils
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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Research and Development Scheme Project Consultant: Kate Reynolds Adelaide
- The following organisations were invited to make comment (Appendix 4)
- Of the above, the following organisations provided comment (Appendix 4).
- Questions 6 – 8 related to demographic data.
- Questions 9 - 10 related to Council Plans.
- Questions 11 – 12 related to the impact of an ageing population on Council activities.
- Questions 20 – 24 related to opportunities, challenges, leadership and gaps in services.
- Questions 25 26 - respondents recommended action by the LGA in the following areas.
- 4. Interview Findings Leadership
- Regional Collaboration Projects / Positive Ageing Taskforces
- 6. Recommendations
- Appendix 1 - Survey Questions
- Appendix 2 – List of people interviewed
- Appendix 3 - Documents and websites supplied by respondents
- Appendix 4 – Responses from stakeholder organizations
Preparedness for an Ageing Population August 2007 A project funded under the South Australian Local Government Research and Development Scheme Project Consultant: Kate Reynolds Adelaide 0412 637 387 katereyn@gmail.com Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Methodology 3. Survey Results 4. Interview Findings 5. Conclusion 6. Recommendations Appendix 1 – Survey Questions Appendix 2 – List of people interviewed Appendix 3 – List of documents provided by respondents Appendix 4 – Responses from stakeholder organisations 1. Introduction Australia, like most OECD countries, has an ageing population and the SA Local Government Association recognises that South Australia needs to be well prepared to play its part in meeting the future needs of the state’s older population. By 2051 almost 31% of the state’s population will be over 65 and the over 85 population will have increased four fold. The rest of Australia can also expect by about 2051 that for the first time in our history the number of people over 65 will outnumber children under 15. There are more recent projections that suggest this point could now be reached as early as 2012 in South Australia and 2019 in Australia as a whole.1 To assist Councils, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has entered into a partnership with the Federal Government Department of Health and Ageing to help Local Government meet the specific opportunities and challenges of an ageing population. The Planning for an Ageing Community project began work in 2003 to:
In February 2006 the State Government released Improving with Age: Our Ageing Plan for South Australia. We want our Ageing Plan to be a wake up call. We must stop thinking old. The ageing of many countries like Australia is one of the most significant social trends of our time. In South Australia we are ageing faster than other states. We don’t see that this counts against us—rather it gives us a unique opportunity to position the State to respond well to what now, and in the next half of the century, can only be described as a social revolution.” Improving with Age2 focuses on:
In March 2004 the State Government launched South Australia’s Strategic Plan. Objective 2 stated: Our priorities are to focus on further improving our quality of life and the wellbeing of the community and individual citizens. The focus will be on being healthier and fitter, having less crime and feeling safer. The emphasis will be placed on preventative measures including education programs. One of the Key Points under Objective 2 was to ‘Address the challenge of an ageing population’. In January 2007 the State Government launched the update of South Australia’s Strategic Plan but it no longer includes any reference to an ageing population. In announcing its plans to regionalise the plan, the Government said that “Local councils and regional development boards will be central players for regionalising SASP”.3 The report of the LGA’s 2005 Independent Inquiry into the Financial Sustainability of Local Government has put the issue of financial resourcing of service delivery and infrastructure at the forefront of Councils’ minds. This survey, whilst it does not address the costs of current or future delivery of age related services and infrastructure, provides information which will assist Councils to understand some of the key issues facing Local Government in South Australia. An important issue for Councils is to ensure they, and the other spheres of government and the non-government sector, are using their resources effectively. In particular Local Government is keen to ensure that councils are to have the financial capacity to deliver on those key outcomes in South Australia’s Strategic Plan that are reliant on an efficient and effective Local Government sector and that the sector is well positioned to negotiate with the State and Federal governments on level terms, including clarifying roles and responsibilities and agreeing on joint activities. The ageing population in SA has resulted in changes to community expectations and an increase in the number of clients requiring a range of ageing related services and infrastructure. The Project Brief was to:
(At the time of this study the LGA undertook a parallel study into the Local Government’s current and future involvement with the Home & Community Care Program. The issues raised in this report are to some degree also relevant to this separate report entitled “Local Government’s Participation in the HACC Program”.) 2. Methodology Following notification in various LGA circulars, the survey (Appendix 1) was sent in November 2006 by the LGA to all 68 Councils in South Australia. Responses were received from nearly two-thirds of the State’s 68 Councils (22 rural Councils, 18 metropolitan Councils) until January 2007.
Face to face interviews (Appendix 1) were conducted during December and January with three metropolitan councils and three rural councils to elicit further insight, details and recommendations. The following organisations were invited to make comment (Appendix 4):
Of the above, the following organisations provided comment (Appendix 4).
3. Survey Results (A detailed summary of the information provided by respondents can be supplied upon request to the LGA). The majority of metropolitan respondents were Managers of Council departments (eg Community Services) or Planning Officers. The majority or rural respondents were CEOs or Managers. 40 councils responded to the Survey. Questions 6 – 8 related to demographic data.
Questions 9 - 10 related to Council Plans.
Plans (either Strategic or Age-specific) mentioned ageing in relation to the following topics:
Questions 11 – 12 related to the impact of an ageing population on Council activities.
Questions 13 - 19 related to awareness of ageing issues and resources by Council’s Elected Members, Management and Staff, and involvement by internal and external committees in planning and implementing strategies to meet the needs of an ageing population.
Questions 20 – 24 related to opportunities, challenges, leadership and gaps in services. Councils identified opportunities in four main categories
Councils identified challenges in relation to:
Respondents identified gaps in funding and access to expertise (especially for small and rural councils) and workforce issues as significant. Almost all Councils believe that all three spheres of government should be working in collaboration with community based service providers to address issues and strategies related to South Australia’s ageing population. However most rural respondents stressed that their councils do not have the capacity to any provide new or expanded services without additional resources being provided by the State or Federal governments. Those Councils with Ageing Taskforces highlighted the continuing role the Taskforces could/should play in both planning and implementation. Questions 25 & 26 - respondents recommended action by the LGA in the following areas.
A number of rural councils listed the range of issues/demands they are grappling with at the moment and stressed that limited financial and human resources mean they do not have the capacity to initiate improvement to planning or service provision either at this time or in the near future. 4. Interview Findings Leadership
“They always ask us too little and too late.” “Despite all the words in all the reports, they’re generally not at all interested in hearing what we have to say.” “It’s time that they recognized us as partners, not as just service providers” “HACC should be a tool, not the driver. It should be one product, not the tick a box quick fix to service provision – because it’s not.” Council activities
“It’s hard enough for us to cover the absolute basics for older people now, let alone when the list of basics is expected to increase.” Regional Collaboration Projects / Positive Ageing Taskforces The Office for The Ageing currently funds a number of regional collaboration projects, auspiced by Councils, which aim to improve service and program reform, coordination and collaboration at a regional level with the intention of improving consumer outcomes for the Home and Community Care (HACC) target populations. Funding for these projects is not recurrent. Typically these projects involve planning and implementation of collaborative work by Councils, local Health Services, Divisions of General Practice and a range of private and community based providers of health, housing and other services. Projects have been in place for between 8 years and 18 months. The Regional Collaboration Projects and the Positive Ageing Taskforces have developed Strategic Plans to drive both planning and implementation of the work to be undertaken by the participating organisations. Interviewees stressed the value of local knowledge and networks in the development of regional efforts and cautioned against a ‘homogenised’ (ie statewide or centralised) approach to collaborative planning. Some interviewees expressed their continuing disappointment with the “we’ll fix it when it’s broken approach” taken by State and Federal government representatives whose participation at times appears to be reluctant. Given the achieved outcomes in the areas of coordination, collaboration and generation of new funds, both metropolitan and rural interviewees expressed their support for their projects to continue but with a greater degree of funding certainty. “The planning and improvements we’ve managed so far simply would not have happened without the funds from OFTA.” At the time of the interviews rural Projects had been attempting for some time to establish OFTA’s intentions in relation to the projects which had reached the conclusion of their funding period. Interviewees expressed their frustration at the lack of timely communication by OFTA and felt the work undertaken by the Taskforces and their Project Officers was being undervalued. Some interviewees expressed the view that the auspicing Councils were, due to competition for resources, unlikely to continue participation if OFTA was not willing to maintain a realistic financial contribution. Since that time funding has been allocated for the projects to continue – again on a one-off basis. As at July 2007 OFTA was unable to provide to this project a statement of its position on the future of the Collaborative Projects. Those interviewees without Collaborative Projects in their regions expressed frustration about the lack of equity in funding within in as well as across regions. They asked that the LGA seek, as a matter of urgency, to have OFTA allocate recurrent funds for every region in the state to undertake collaborative work on ageing issues. In summary The face to face interviews reinforced the information gathered from the surveys. Two councils raised concerns about the intersection between services/plans/issues for people with a disability and the ageing population. Their view is that local government is not yet well prepared for a surge in demand for improved/increased infrastructure and services as the needs of the two groups converge over time. In general, larger councils (ie those with greater financial and human resources) expressed the view that they are reasonably well prepared to meet the challenges of ageing population but were concerned that other key stakeholders were unwilling to acknowledge the impact of population ageing on Council activities, or were intending to continue shifting both cost and responsibility to local government. In general, small rural councils expressed the view that financial and staffing constraints make it extremely difficult for them to improve/increase their activities, and almost impossible to initiate new activities. Any assistance provided by the LGA to help their staff and elected members respond to population change will be welcomed. 5. Conclusion The survey data and interviews showed that there is considerable variation between councils about the level of understanding and commitment from key decision makers to responding to population ageing in South Australia. Whilst most metropolitan councils and some of the larger regional Councils have developed either their own or a regional ageing strategy or are actively working towards a plan to respond to population ageing, the smaller councils expressed a need for more guidance and practical assistance on how to commence the strategic planning process. They also expressed a very clear for additional resources if this planning is to be achieved in the near future. As part of its broader Local Government Financial Sustainability program, Local Government in South Australia needs to develop a clearer understanding of the current and future expectations and capacity of both councils and other key players, including the other spheres of government and private and community providers of services and infrastructure. The survey responses show that Councils want to the sector to be able to negotiate with the State and Federal governments on level terms, including clarifying roles and responsibilities and agreeing on joint activities. 6. Recommendations
Appendix 1 - Survey Questions 1. Name of Council 2. Name of person completing the survey 3. Title of the person completing the survey 4. Phone 5. Email 6. Does your Council have current demographic data about its population ie: a) The number of older people living in the council area now? Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Over 65s - Yes / No Over 80s – Yes / No
Over 65s - Yes / No Over 80s – Yes / No
Over 65s - Yes / No Over 80s – Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
9. Is planning to meet the needs of an ageing population specifically mentioned in your current Strategic Plan? No / Yes - Please attach a copy of the relevant sections to your survey response. 10. a) Does your Council have a separate Plan/Strategy to respond to the needs of older people in your community? No / Yes - Please attach a copy of the Plan to your survey response. b) If you answered No, has your Council resolved to develop such a Plan? c) If Yes, when do you expect it to be released? d) If your Council does have an Ageing Plan/Strategy - does it cover the following areas? Please tick where appropriate.
11. How would you describe the likely impact of population ageing on the provision of the following services by your council? (Please tick one)
12. How would you describe the likely impact of population ageing on the following functions of your council? (Please tick one)
Further comment:
c) Human Resource Management 13. What is the awareness of population ageing issues within your Council? Please tick one
14. a) Which council positions and committees are associated with developing your council’s plans to meet the future needs of its older population? b) Have specific resources been allocated to this? 15. a) Which council positions and committees are associated with implementing your council’s plans to meet the future needs of its older population? b) Have specific resources been allocated to this? 16. What external networks, groups or agencies are associated with developing your council’s plans to meet the future needs of its older population? 17. Would you describe these groups or agencies as very involved, involved or not very involved at this stage in the planning activities? If you selected ‘not very involved’ please suggest why this might be. 18. Are the relevant elected members, staff and committees aware of the following resources: (Please tick)
19. a) Does your Council have staff with expertise in the planning and provision of services for older people? b) If not, are you confident this will be addressed within the next 2 years? c) If not, why not? 20. What do you see as the key opportunities for your Council when considering SA’s ageing population? 21. What do you see as the key challenges for your Council when considering SA’s ageing population? 22. Do you have comments to make about who should be responsible for addressing issues/strategies/innovation related to councils’ preparedness for an ageing population? 23. Do you have comments to make about gaps which impact on in current service provision for older South Australians and /or gaps which impact on local government’s ability to prepare for an ageing population? 24. Do you have comments to make about who should play a leadership role in ensuring that South Australia is well positioned to respond to the ageing of its population? 25. Please make recommendations for action by the LGA to assist your council plan and respond to its ageing population. Appendix 2 – List of people interviewed Anne O’Reilly, Manager, Aged and Children’s Services, Port Augusta City Council Declan Moore, General Manager Community & Governance, City of West Torrens Frank Brennan, CEO, Wattle Range Council Kevin Sharpe, Community Development Manager, City of Prospect Liz Bok, Manager, Manager, Community Services, Adelaide Hills Council Reg Budarick & Gary Sawyer, Positive Ageing Taskforce Project Officer, Rural City of Murray Bridge Stuart Purvis, Team Leader, City Services, City of Onkaparinga Appendix 3 - Documents and websites supplied by respondents
Northern Collaborative Project http://cweb.salisbury.sa.gov.au/manifest/servlet/page?pg=9789&stypen=html Appendix 4 – Responses from stakeholder organizations (refer separate document) 1 SA Government - Improving with Age; Our Ageing Plan for South Australia 2 Page 7 3 Page 10 DME 35747 Local Government Association of South Australia Yüklə 182,73 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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