A fact that should sit at the heart of any decision made regarding Northumberland yet its never known to have been taken into account by Northumberland Conservatives well heeled Council Cabinet members is the differing levels of social deprivation residents from poorer areas suffer when compared with their own champagne lifestyles.
A baby girl born on the affluent Northburn estate in Cramlington has a life expectancy of up to 105 years, which is roughly 16 years longer than girls from Cowpen, Croft, Isabella, Hirst, Sleekburn and large sections of villages across the County’s rural coalfields. Yet Councillor Eve Chicken, the Northumberland Conservative cabinet member for adult social care, has announced the scrapping of the much needed OAP Warden system and forced up the costs to pensioners in some of the poorest and most deprived places in the UK.
Locals have taken to social media to give their opinions following the announcement that a consultation that few have seen has taken place cutting down the low level of pension payments that their older relatives have come to rely on.
The majority of older residents who use this service do not enjoy the new national state pension pushed by the right wing press and which REFORM;s think tank wish to abolish. Many proud pensioners receive £184.90 per week and struggle as they do not wish to be dragged through the pension credit system yet the unthinking Cabinet Member who announced this cut is classed as a standard cabinet member with a portfolio who receives a specific Special Responsibility Allowance tier on top of base rate when combined with the index-linked basic allowance means cabinet members receive between £33,000 and £45,000 total per year, depending on their exact portfolio seniority. If on the lower rate she receives £633 per week for her part time job.
The Council has recently announced a new committee the ‘assurance and challenge panel’ manned up and its true its all men from the Tories and one Reform member Rick Baker who happens to be the Councillor for the County’s most deprived ward, Cowpen.
Here’s a few reminders of how poor his ward is and why he needs to get his new panel to kick this attack on pensioners from his area out!
The significant disparity between Cowpen and other areas is primarily attributed to socioeconomic factors and lifestyle differences that the Council should have taken into account in its risk assessment of this decision and if they actually produced one it is not available in the public domain.
Socioeconomic Deprivation: Cowpen experiences much higher levels of income deprivation, unemployment, and child poverty compared to Cramlington North, which is a modern, affluent residential suburb.
Dietary and Lifestyle Habits: Public health studies note a higher reliance on processed foods, cigarettes, and energy drinks in Cowpen, contrasted with easier access to fresh produce and a focus on preventative wellness in Cramlington North. So Councillor Baker, when will Cowpen residents get full access to the wellness and preventative issues that the warden service helped plant into the Community you are meant to serve?
Substance Misuse: The more deprived pockets of Blyth experience significantly elevated rates of illicit drug and alcohol use, which heavily impacts overall community life expectancy which adds to the lower life expectancy but the outcome of this decision will add a great deal more!
Notes
https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/politics/council/council-cabinet-agree-to-increase-telecare-charges-in-northumberland-with-warden-service-scrapped-9273336
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/life-expectancy-northumberland_uk_5bfd4251e4b0eb6d9313c450
Longest lived top 15 list
https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/people/the-northumberland-areas-where-life-expectancy-is-the-longest-for-women-3449724
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