Hello! We hope you enjoy this newsletter for Alliance members. Our AGMFor the first time this year, the AGM was held in the welcoming surroundings of the Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on 10 and 11 October 2018. This year, the AGM was attended by 184 individuals participating as members of the Executive Council, delegates, sponsored representatives, observers and guests. Once again, reflecting the increasing amount of work and activities with which the Alliance is currently engaged, the AGM was unable to discuss all of the Motions that had been accepted for discussion by the close of the AGM at 3.00 pm on Thursday 11 October 2018 - in fact, five of the 51 Motions tabled for debate were guillotined! When it meets on 6 December 2018, the Executive Council will consider and agree on how best to take forward the terms of all the Motions that were carried, remitted, guillotined or accepted at this year’s AGM; references to the decisions on all those Motions will be included in the 2018 Annual Report that will be issued next year. All serving Alliance office-holders, who stood for election again, were elected unopposed - Brian Sturtevant as Chairman, Don Makepeace as Vice-Chairman and the other incumbents on the Executive Council (EC), including the Secretary (Administration), John Jarvis, the Secretary (Organisation), Mike Lawler, the nine Regional Representatives and the three National Executive Council members. Dr Tony Damaglou, Secretary of the Northern Ireland Branch, continues as the representative of the Northern Ireland Branch on the EC, as do Christine McGiveron and John McGiveron, as its Administrator and Chairman, respectively, for the Scotland Branch. Roy Lewis, Eileen Turner and Keith Yallop were also re-elected unopposed to the Standing Orders Committee (SOC). Farewell to Mike DugganAt the AGM Dinner, the Chairman, Brian Sturtevant, paid valedictory compliments to the retiring General Secretary, Mike Duggan, who responded by paying tribute to the Alliance & all its members, updating on his retirement plans and offering his personal take on wider social developments. New General Secretary, Lisa RayDelegates also heard the new General Secretary, Lisa Ray, make an introductory speech to the AGM about her plans for the Alliance. Lisa, who has served as Assistant General Secretary since 2013, outlined the need to adapt to meet the changing concerns of pensioners. She also highlighted an upcoming review of the organisation to ensure that CSPA continued to add value for members in retirement. Also at the AGM Dinner, the Tom Hoyes Silver Salver for the best Group Newsletter was awarded to the Bedford & District Group, with commendations for the runner-up, Coventry & Warwickshire Group In addition to the debates on the Motions on the AGM order paper, delegates and observers were addressed by Wendy Dixon. Lead Reviewer, Care Quality Commission (CQC), on How Older People move between Health and Social Care in England, Bernard Seymour. Affinity Resolutions, on the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Fenella Nance, Connect Communications, on Later Life Ambitions campaign plans; the AGM was also addressed by Ron Douglas, the President of the National Pensioners’ Convention and Helen McKenna-Aspell, the Group Head of Marketing at the Charity for Civil Servants. Finally, the Alliance hopes that all who attended the 2018 AGM had an enjoyable, interesting and productive time and would agree that the discussions and decisions made will help the Alliance secure its planned increases in levels of campaigning activities and improvements in membership numbers. Autumn 2018 Budget SummaryOn 29 October 2018, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond MP, presented his second Autumn Budget Statement, much of which had been officially trailed in advance in the media, but, which did seem to gain the support of the Government back-bench MPs and those of the DUP and should so ensure the survival of Mrs May and her Cabinet for the crunch Brexit votes in Parliament at the end of 2018/beginning of 2019. |