Consulting with older people and volunteers at the Hub

Monday saw Rachel and I helping Otley Action consulting with the users and volunteers – exploring people’s views of the barriers facing older people now and in the future. A significant theme which arose was that of older people being digitally excluded from key services: banking (nearly all the banks in Otley have closed), applying for Blue Badges which now has to be done online – how does that work when people don’t have computers, use the internet or have email addresses? It looks like we’ll be working with Otley Action to address this issue. There was a great energy and atmosphere with both groups of people there.