SCOTLAND TOP AND ENGLISH REGIONS BOTTOM FOR WINTER COMMUNITY SPIRIT.

SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

December 21, 2010.

SCOTLAND TOP AND ENGLISH REGIONS BOTTOM FOR WINTER COMMUNITY SPIRIT.

Elderly people living in Scotland are more than twice as likely to be offered bad weather help by neighbours than the UK average.

An independent survey of 11,760 people conducted by Populus for Saga, the lifestyle, financial services and travel organisation for over-50s, found that 22% were offered help during the December ice and snows by neighbours - compared to the nationwide average of 10%.

But only 4% of older people in the West Midlands said they’d been offered help, with the North West and East Anglia faring little better at 5%. London and the South West were on 7%, Wales 8%, Northern Ireland 9%, the South East 11%, the East Midlands 12%, the North East 14%, Yorkshire and Humber 16%.

The news comes as Saga launches its search for the best good neighbours in winter-battered Britain.

The survey also found that a quarter of over-75 respondents received help during the recent snowy and icy weather from their family (24%) and/or neighbours (25%). Community spirit was greatest in Scotland where 22% of all respondents (compared to 10% nationally) were helped by their neighbours. Only 1% of Saga panellists needed help - but didn’t receive any. Four out of five (80%) respondents weren’t offered help but felt that they really didn’t need any.

Icy pavements which prevent people from going out were the biggest problem for survey respondents (35%) when it is very snowy and icy; this is particularly true for the older respondent. The greatest concern for almost one in five Saga panellists (19%) is just keeping warm, given how high the heating bills are. Nevertheless, for those respondents who have not yet retired, the biggest problem is getting to work (47%).

Saga is launching a “Good Neighbour Roll of Honour” to demonstrate the positive effects the bad weather can have and how it is truly becoming a word for today as neighbours pull together in times of hardship.

“You don’t have to dive into a freezing river or try and stop a sliding vehicle to be considered a hero by your older neighbours”, said Emma Soames, Editor-at-Large of Saga Magazine.

“Saga wants to celebrate the good neighbours who are truly making a difference to the lives of older people this winter.

“It doesn’t take much; just offering to go out for groceries or providing a lift to get to appointments or a helping hand so they can go on with their normal lives is so important at this time of year and can make a massive difference to physical and mental wellbeing – for both the helped and the helper.

“We are asking people who are benefiting from the kindness of a good neighbour to let Saga know who they are and we will add their names to our Good Neighbours roll of honour which will be published on the Saga website.

“We only need to know their name - or indeed just their first or nickname and the town or location you and they live in. And then we'd like a short sentence on how they are making a difference in your area while the weather is making life tricky for us all.”

Nominations can be emailed to goodneighbour@saga.co.uk, or posted to: Press Team, Saga Building, Enbrook Park, Folkestone, Kent CT20 3SE

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

80% OF NORTH WEST BUSINESS OWNER MANAGERS HAVE HAD NO FINANCIAL HEALTH CHECK IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS.

HAINES WATTS

FINANCIAL SERVICES

MANCHESTER AND PRESTON

PRESS RELEASE

December 20, 2010.

80% OF NORTH WEST BUSINESS OWNER MANAGERS HAVE HAD NO FINANCIAL HEALTH CHECK IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS.

Video.

More than 80% of North West-based business owner-managers have had no sort of financial health check during the past year according to a financial planner based in the region.

Ann-Marie Banks, a senior financial planner with Haines Watts Financial Services, part of  UK top 20 chartered accountants Haines Watts, says that despite the past 18 months being amongst the volatile in economic history, only around a fifth of owner-managers in the North West have kept on top of personal finance issues.

“The markets dived, and then have recovered by around 20% in the past year, which means that owner-managers who have had advice, acted upon it and stayed alert to the economic situation have quite possibly seen as much as a 20% increase in their holdings – and that could make a huge difference when they come to cash in their pensions,” said Ann-Marie Banks, who is based in Manchester and Preston, with responsibility for clients of HW’s Liverpool, Ulverston and Hale offices. Video.

“The very sharpest business minds work with their financial planners, keep looking at their assets, assessing the risks and potential rewards, and take on board the changes in the market – and those people have come through the past 12 months or so with a stronger financial holdings base as a consequence.

“But it’s not too late: there’s still great volatility ahead, and advice and agility could see recovery for those who have not yet gone through a financial health check – and potentially greater gains for those who continue to do so.

“We obviously press our clients to take advice, and, while there’s a cost, it is outweighed in the long term by the benefits of applying that advice. But as we meet with more and more owner-managers outside of the Haines Watts client bank, we’re coming to the conclusion that around 80% of them have simply not had any sort of financial health check.

“For instance, it has been widely reported that simply putting money in a savings account at the moment is yielding a loss – but there are many more options available to help money grow.”

Haines Watts is a UK top 20 chartered accountancy firm specialising in the owner-managed sector, providing a broad range of services out of its 50 offices. The firm has 80 years experience and 30,000 clients.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.hwca.com

Photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pressrelations/5265365689/in/set-72157624275784545/

NEW LEASES OF WORKING LIFE FOR NEW LIFESAVERS JOHN AND ALAN.

SAVOY VENTURES LTD.

NHS PATIENT TRANSPORT

PRESS RELEASE

December 20, 2010.

NEW LEASES OF WORKING LIFE FOR NEW LIFESAVERS JOHN AND ALAN. 

Video of John. Video of Alan.

It’s all about new leases of life, and one of the South East’s leading NHS patient transport service providers is making double the contribution of most by employing retired people – and turning them into lifesavers.

Savoy Ventures Limited provides patient transport services for several South London and Kent hospitals, but as well as bringing in younger people embarking on their careers, the firm is also recruiting more and more retired folk.

“In this day and age, 60 is a very early age to retire – so we’re making a point of seeking out older people to join our team of passenger transport and care assistants, but we’re also finding a great number of them are demonstrating skills and attitude that means we’re also turning our second-life recruits into ambulance technicians – true lifesavers with occasional emergency and blue-light duties,” said Elle Dadswell of Savoy Ventures.

“Older people have fantastic life skills, which they don’t just pass on to their colleagues, but which can make a massive difference to the way patients respond and react during what can be quite traumatic times when being transferred between hospitals, for instance.”

Two such members of the team are John Hunt, 63, from Canterbury, and his crew partner Alan Butt, 61, from Dartford.

John came out of retirement after spending most of his working life as a bookseller, video, while Alan was a railway engineer, video, and now are each fully-fledged ambulance technicians working with several south London hospitals.

Savoy Ventures Limited is a private company providing patient transport and transfer services to NHS Trusts in the South East of England. Established in 2006, Savoy makes more than 200,000 patient transfer journeys a year. Savoy Ventures Limited is engaged by a number of NHS Trusts to carry out blue-light transfers, specialist wheelchair, incubator, bariatric chair or stretcher transport, notes/X-ray transfer, and movement of tissue between hospitals. Many staff are trained and qualified to Ambulance Technician level.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.savoyventures.com

DO YOU HAVE THE BEST NEIGHBOURS IN BRITAIN? IF SO, WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THEM.

SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

December 16, 2010.

DO YOU HAVE THE BEST NEIGHBOURS IN BRITAIN? IF SO, WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THEM.

The search is on for the best ‘good neighbour’ in winter-battered Britain.

Saga, the travel, lifestyle and financial services organisation for over-50s, is launching a “Good Neighbour Roll of Honour” to demonstrate the positive effects the bad weather can have and how it is truly becoming a word for today as neighbours pull together in times of hardship.

“It’s a long time since we’ve seen the sense of community tested to this degree.  David Cameron is talking about the ‘Big Society’, but across Britain communities have been pulling together and bringing the words to life with real heroism and support being shown by friends and neighbours,” said Emma Soames, Editor-at-Large of Saga Magazine. 

“You don’t have to dive into a freezing river or try and stop a sliding vehicle to be considered a hero by your older neighbours”, she says. 

“Saga wants to celebrate the good neighbours who are truly making a difference to the lives of older people this winter and throughout the festive season.

“It doesn’t take much; just offering to go out for groceries or providing a lift to get to appointments or a helping hand so they can go on with their normal lives is so important at this time of year and can make a massive difference to physical and mental wellbeing – for both the helped and the helper.

“We are asking people who are benefiting from the kindness of a good neighbour to let Saga know who they are and we will add their names to our Good Neighbours roll of honour which will be published on the Saga website.

“We only need to know their name - or indeed just their first or nickname and the town or location you and they live in. And then we'd like a short sentence on how they are making a difference in your area while the weather is making life tricky for us all.”

Nominations can be emailed to goodneighbour@saga.co.uk.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

OVER-50S UNEMPLOYMENT: WORRYING TREND SAYS DR ROS ALTMANN.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR GENERAL, SAGA

SAGA SOUNDBITE

December 15, 2010.

OVER-50S UNEMPLOYMENT: WORRYING TREND SAYS DR ROS ALTMANN.

Commenting on the today’s unemployment figures, Dr Ros Altmann, economist and Director General of Saga, said:

“If you drill into these figures there are some very worrying statistics for the over-50s, especially women - who will find it very difficult to get back into work.

“The figures tell a very bleak tale: if you’re over 50 and put out of work, then you’re going to be out of work for a very long time. But if the government is seriously thinking about raising the pension age, then it should be mindful that the unemployment rate for people over-50s is rising sharply – with long-term job prospects getting worse and worse. And women are suffering far more than men.

“There is an increase is those over-50s who are unemployed for a year or more of 42.6%, while those unemployed for two years or more is up 25.9%. Breaking that down into men and women – men unemployed for a year or more is up 35.7%, women up 65.5%, and for two years it is 17.6% and 53.7 % respectively.”

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

IGNORE CALLS FOR DELAY OF DEFAULT RETIREMENT AGE ABOLITION, SAYS ROS ALTMANN.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR GENERAL, SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

December 13, 2010

IGNORE CALLS FOR DELAY OF DEFAULT RETIREMENT AGE ABOLITION, SAYS ROS ALTMANN.

Dr Ros Altmann, Director General of Saga, says calls by business leaders to delay the abolition of the Default Retirement Age should be ignored.

Dr Altmann said: “The Default Retirement Age Should have been abolished years ago.  The timetable must certainly not slip.  Ageism has no place in a modern labour market.  

“Of course it is more convenient for employers to be able to just sack someone for being 65, but that is not fair on the workers themselves.  It is also a huge waste of our national resources.  

“Employers must judge workers fairly. People are not old or 'past it' at 65 any more.  Of course some people are not fit to work, but that applies at much younger ages too and employers will have to adjust their attitudes and assess workers' skills objectively, not on the basis of old-fashioned prejudice.  Most people still have enormous amounts to offer employers.

“Longer working lives are an essential element of overcoming our pensions crisis. The first baby-boomers reach age 65 in 2011 and the demographics mean millions more following in coming years.  

“Their pensions have not worked out in the way they had expected, and they are still fit and healthy.  They would much rather stay on at work than be forced to retire.  If they are forced out of the labour market, they will end up poorer in retirement and that will impact the economy as a whole, as they will have less money to spend.

“Whether or not a worker is suitable for employment should be determined by their skill and ability, not their chronological age.  Employers must be obliged to assess workers' suitability for their jobs on an individual basis, not according to some arbitrary criteria that consigns older workers to a labour market scrapheap on which they do not belong.

“There is a whole new phase of life waiting for workers - a period of years when they work part-time, cutting down gradually rather than suddenly stopping altogether.  

“This is the way forward for employers and the sooner they wake up to the new realities, the better.  Retirement should be a process, not an event, with 'bonus years' of part-time work that allow workers to keep earning and employers to retain their skills.

“Flexible retirement and gradual change in work patterns, or perhaps use of older workers for mentoring, training younger workers in firm-specific skills, job-sharing and so on will all require careful handling, but would be of enormous benefit to employers, employees and society as a whole. Unless people keep working longer, we will all be poorer in future.”

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.saga.co.uk

NOTES
Saga carried out a survey of 14,178 people aged over 50.  85% thought that employees should have the right to a staged retirement.  Our recent research shows that 38% want to continue working past state pension age and more than a third of people who have already retired say they would prefer to be doing some paid work.

HR departments already, in many cases, understand the benefits of employing older workers.  Saga’s own assessment of older workers shows that their performance is not dependent on their age.  Also, employers have made flexible work available for women (for example after childbirth) and such policies can be extended to assist older workers stay in employment after their full-time careers and before full-time retirement

DR ROS ALTMANN COMMENTS ON AVIVA REAL RETIREMENT REPORT.

DR ROS ALTMANN


DIRECTOR GENERAL, SAGA

SAGA SOUNDBITE



December 8, 2010.

DR ROS ALTMANN COMMENTS ON AVIVA REAL RETIREMENT REPORT.

Dr Ros Altmann, Director General of Saga, said: “Let’s not force anybody to retire. Apparently a third of pensioners feel they were forced to do so, but all we’re doing as a society is creating a situation in which people who want to work – and could work out having to be financed by the taxpayer.

“People past traditional retirement age are in their ‘bonus years’ – not just for themselves, but for the economy. ‘Part-tirement’ is the answer.

“We need to find ways of helping older people stay at work part-time; not only does it save the country money, but it also means we’d keep skills and talents that take decades to build. The abolition of the Default Retirement Age cannot come soon enough – forcing people to retire is Dickensian.”

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.saga.co.uk

MCBAINS COOPER “BLUE LIGHT” TEAM, WORKING WITH NORTH YORKSHIRE POLICE, SECURES PLANNING CONSENT FOR NEW POLICE STATION

MCBAINS COOPER


PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANCY

PRESS RELEASE



December 9, 2010.



MCBAINS COOPER “BLUE LIGHT” TEAM, WORKING WITH NORTH YORKSHIRE POLICE, SECURES PLANNING CONSENT FOR NEW POLICE STATION



McBains Cooper, the international interdisciplinary property and construction consultancy, has designed a landmark Police Station in Yorkshire that will operate to the highest possible environmentally-sensitive standards.



Planning permission has been granted for the multi-million pound North Yorkshire Police Station on the outskirts of Harrogate. The new project will replace the existing 1930s building which would have taken half the cost of the new build to repair and maintain over the next ten years.



“The latest available technology and environmental features will be applied in the new Police Station. It will meet all Home Office guidelines, and is set to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ in terms of assessing the building’s environmental performance,” said Mark Baseby of McBains Cooper.



“We have also managed to turn a tight, sloping site, surrounded by protected mature trees, into a well-organised master plan. Locating the custody element of the building partly below ground and within the landscape has given the Police Authority a naturally secure environment in which to operate.”



North Yorkshire’s Chief Constable, Grahame Maxwell said: “This is not just an exciting project because it is something new and highly significant for the force, but because it is also clearly one of the most advanced Police Stations of its type which will benefit our communities for many years to come.”



Mark Baseby said: “The distinct architectural design treatments of the three entrances to the building – custodial, staff and public - form a significant part of the design approach and arrangement. Each entrance has a different look and feel and is located separately. A key element of the design brief was ‘civic dignity’, and this is achieved in what is a landmark building which sits on a very tight and complicated site.”



The 16-cell custody suite will be located in the stone “podium” base of the building, while office accommodation for 200 officers and staff will be in a predominantly glazed, two storey element above, making it an extremely pleasant working environment whilst at the same time, striking the right balance between openness and the required security considerations.



There will also be a two-storey car park, with the lower storey providing operational vehicle parking, vehicle maintenance and storage.



Michael Thirkettle, Chief Executive of McBains Cooper, said: “We have now been involved with the design and construction of several Police Headquarters and Operational Accommodation in the UK and have become internationally recognised for our expertise in this area. We have contracts for similar work as far away as Latin America where we have been engaged on a number of government-funded custodial and security-related construction projects.”





Ends



Further information:

Iain Macauley

07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.mcbainscooper.com



Notes.

McBains Cooper

McBains Cooper is an inter-discipline consultancy, specialising in property, infrastructure and construction, offering a wide range of consulting and design services including architectural, aesthetic or technical design, problem solving, budget management, facilities management, health and safety, sustainability consultancy and on-the-ground civil engineering. Driving and supporting projects ranging from minor works to major contracts worth more than £100 million, McBains Cooper operates across a variety of sectors throughout the UK, Europe and Latin America. McBains Cooper is committed to environmental, social and economic sustainable development and their integrated approach means they deliver effective, award-winning solutions to their clients. The Group employs 150 people. McBains Cooper has regional headquarters in London (head office), Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford, Windsor, Lima (Peru) and Mexico City, with associate offices in Belfast and Dublin. www.mcbainscooper.com