Newsletter ¦ 4th December

Greetings from the Jubilee Centre

I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. Special Happy Birthday greetings to Rodger, our Treasurer, who is celebrating his 70th birthday today – we hope you have a great day, despite all the restrictions.

This week’s newsletter is split into three parts. The first two parts are about Coronavirus in Bury and our services. I have included a piece about Attendance Allowance as there are thousands of people in Bury who are eligible to receive this but do not claim it. Louise and Ruth have helped local people to claim over six million pounds in the last five years and are quite expert in tackling that difficult 30-page application form.

In part three, there is information about how to keep well through winter, links to arts and culture and so much more! And there is the quiz at the end. Happy Reading.

Part 1: Coronavirus in Bury (4^th December)

This week, the good news is that the number of people being tested positive for Coronavirus is continuing to fall in Bury but we still have a long way to go until we beat this virus

In the week ending 31th October, there were 568.1 people per 100,000 testing positive for Coronavirus in Bury. In the last week, this figure has fallen to 215.7 people per 100,000 (Figure for 2^nd December - source Manchester Evening News). This is still higher than the England figure which is 154.8 people per 100,000.

The borough of Bury is now placed under Tier Three rules. In general, the rules are that you must not meet anyone you do not live with socially indoors, or outdoors in a private garden or at most outdoor public venues, but you can see friends and family you do not live with in a group of up to 6 in some outdoor public places such as parks.

Non-essential shops are reopening, but restaurants, pubs and cafes, such as our Jubilee Centre, must remain closed.

Please go to the Bury Council Website for more information about the new rules under tier three: https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15594

For help with shopping and collection prescriptions, click onto this site https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bury/our-services/coronavirus/shop/

To find out about how to get a test for coronavirus, please go to the Bury Council website: https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15451

For all those questions about Coronavirus, and how it affects your life, please check out the Age UK FAQ website: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/coronavirus/

The consumption of scotch eggs is permitted in all tiers and can be considered as a substantial meal in tier two areas.

Christmas Bubbles

Between 23rd and 27th December, you can form an exclusive ‘Christmas bubble’ composed of people from no more than three households to spend Christmas with.

The Government guidance is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-a-christmas-bubble-with-friends-and-family/making-a-christmas-bubble-with-friends-and-family

Rather annoyingly, the coronavirus has no plans to take any time off over Christmas. We are hearing from our telephone service that people are being cautious, and planning to hold family reunions when the vaccine has been rolled out. In making your plans, please put your safety first.

Part 2: Our support to you, your family and friends

Due to government restrictions, our café, our activities, and Friends Together have closed until further notice. Our charity shops will remain closed until further notice.

We will be answering the Age UK Bury office telephone – 0161 763 9030 - from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm every weekday throughout the lock down. If we cannot help, we are sure to find someone who can!

A list of all our services is available here: Click on this link.

The services that are available through the lockdown include

Attendance Allowance

Thousands of older people in Bury are missing out on vital financial help. Age UK Bury is on a mission to stop that.

Attendance Allowance is a benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care or supervision because of illness or disability.

Louise Price, Information and Advice Manager at Age UK Bury says "Your eligibility is assessed purely on your disability or health condition and your care needs. It is not means-tested so it doesn’t matter what you earn or how much you have in savings.

You don’t have to spend Attendance Allowance on a carer. In fact, many people spend it on other types of help in the home (such as CareLink), or equipment (grab rails, mobility aids etc), or on services (using taxis to get around) - anything that helps you stay independent, living at home, and out of hospital.

Claiming Attendance Allowance won’t reduce any other income you receive, it is tax-free and if you’re awarded Attendance Allowance, you may become entitled to other benefits, such as Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, or an increase in these benefits if you’re already receiving them."

Andy Hazeldine, Chief Officer, Age UK Bury, says "From our research, we know that there are thousands of older people in Bury who are not receiving this benefit. The application form is long and difficult to fill in but that’s where our free Information and Advice service can help. In the last five years, Louise and Ruth have helped 1,379 people claim £6,376,992.78.”

For more information about Attendance Allowance and other support available, please email info@ageukbury.org.uk or call Louise on 07872 067662 (Mon to Thurs) or Ruth on 07547 400142 (Tues to Friday).

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Louise and Ruth are working by telephone and video conferencing until it is safe to return to the office.

Part Three – In other news

Keeping Well this Winter

The Greater Manchester Ageing Hub and its partners have produced a campaign to support older people who are not online with practical information to keep well this winter. Resources include a useful booklet and conservation tips to help people.

Go to https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/ageing/keeping-well-this-winter/

Eating Well Affordably

Many people are finding it hard to make ends meet and cannot always afford to have balanced meals on a regular basis. A new booklet will help you to plan, budget, shop, prepare food and access support to enjoy food and eat and drink well.

The booklet has been produced by the Greater Manchester Nutrition and Hydration Programme, run by our friends at Age UK Salford, who have done a grand job in raising awareness of the risks of malnutrition amongst older people.

The booklet is available at: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bp-assets/globalassets/salford/forms/nutrition-and-hydration/eating-well-affordably-pdf.pdf

Spreading Light and Hope this digital December

Bury, as the first Greater Manchester Town of Culture, became the centre for live entertainment during lockdown when the The Met played host to United We Stream – and now it’s back! The first event is a 2020 virtual reimagining of Ramsbottom’s Heads for the Hills Festival, taking place on Saturday 5 December with a day of exclusive sets and favourite acts from recent years to keep you dancing at home: go to www.headforthehills.org.uk

The Met is also finalising more streaming events including festive folk and a special event on 20 December. More details soon.

Bury Hospice will bring communities together on Sunday 6 December with its Light Up A Life service, celebrating loved ones and those who have touched our lives during this year. For more information, visit https://buryhospice.org.uk/support-us/events/

Learn a new skill for the New Year

Bury Adult Learning Service has published a brochure of lessons and workshops for the next term.

Some activities are online and these include learning French, Italian and Spanish. There are also some free courses such as “mindfulness” and “using apps and tablets to improve your wellbeing”.

For more information, go to https://www.bury.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=21596&p=0

Power of Attorney refunds

Back in 2018, the Ministry of Justice announced that people who paid to register a Lasting Power of Attorney in England or Wales between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017 were owed money back, after fees were set too high. Some 1.7m refunds were owed in total, with each worth between £34 and £54 if you paid the full registration fee. Only 400,000 of these refunds have so far been claimed, leaving around 1.3m still to be paid ahead of the deadline on 31 January 2021.

More information at: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/12/power-of-attorney-refunds-deadline-1-3-million-unclaimed./

For more information about setting up a Power of Attorney, go to https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/legal-issues/power-of-attorney/

Greater Moments

Are you someone living with dementia or care for someone that does? The Greater Moments App aims to create something that focusses not on the dementia, but on the person and those around them. It aims to capture everything that is positive, for example friendships and achievements alongside thoughts, feelings and concerns.

For more details find out more here: http://greatermoments.org.uk/

Get Creative with Leeds Museums and Galleries Service

Leeds Culture Team have produced a huge array of opportunities to try, including downloadable activities, live sessions to sign up for and short youtube films to watch on a range of different topics. Take a dip into this wealth of creativity today which is now available to people in Bury!

More at https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/virtual-visit/online-activities/

Census 2021 Jobs

The Census is a survey that happens every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales. To make this happen, short -term jobs are now being advertised.

Click here to read more and search for jobs

The Quiz

Last week's quiz was a General Knowledge Quiz. The answers are in the link.

This week’s quiz is a festive Xmas Quiz. The quiz is just for fun and to keep you out of mischief. We sadly don’t have any prizes but you get the warm glow of success, if you get all the answers right. Thank you to Eleanor for preparing these quizzes for us and keeping us busy.

Keep Safe

Andy and all at Age UK Bury