Julia Buckley MP visits Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin office

Julia Buckley, the Labour MP for Shrewsbury, recently visited the Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin office to meet with staff and learn more about the charity’s work supporting older people across the county.

During her visit, Mrs Buckley was introduced to our new CEO, Clare Davis, and Head of Income Generation, Angela Goodman. This provided an opportunity to discuss both the organisation’s vital services and the significant challenges it is currently facing.

Mrs Buckley expressed “great sadness” regarding recent funding cuts affecting local organisations, highlighting in particular the reduction of services at Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin.

For decades, Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin has received funding from Shropshire Council to help provide a lifeline for older people across the county, including day centres, befriending services and a wide range of activity groups. However, the council has decided to transfer these services to another organisation, marking a significant change for both the charity and the communities it serves.

Clare Davis said: “It’s important for people to understand that, although the loss of this funding will have a significant impact on us as a small local charity, we are still here and will continue to do everything we can to help older people across Shropshire.”

Julia Buckley added: “This is another terribly sad example of a fine local charity being forced to re-think its future due to funding issues.”

Following her visit, Mrs Buckley has continued to raise awareness of the issue through regional media and on social media, highlighting the closure of services for older people as a meaningful loss to the community. She is also actively advocating for improved funding for community services to help mitigate these impacts.

Despite these challenges, Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin remains committed to supporting older people and will continue to provide key services, including Information and advice, Help at Home, Dementia support, and a wide range of activity groups across Telford & Wrekin and south Shropshire.

We are now calling on the public, local businesses and supporters for urgent financial support to help sustain its work and ensure older people in the region continue to receive the help they need.

To support Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin, you can make a one-off or regular donation via our JustGiving page. If you would prefer to donate by cheque, it should be made payable to Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin and posted or hand-delivered to our office at Bellstone, Shrewsbury.

If you’d like to learn more about Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin’s services call us on 01743 233 123 or email enquiries@ageukstw.org.uk