Age Concern
Age Concern was the banner title used by a number of charitable organisations (NGOs) specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people (defined as those over the age of 50) based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom. In addition to providing practical support to individuals, Age Concern campaigns on issues such as age discrimination and pensions, and works to influence public opinion and government policy about older people. Numerous Age Concern organisations have been established throughout the UK, working at national and local levels. At the national level, four Age Concern organisations  covered England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Local Age Concerns vary from small village groups to countywide organisations. In England, over 370 of the individual charities were members of a national federation. Although each was a separate registered charity working under the Age Concern banner, the federation allowed members to collaborate at local, regional and national levels, to share resources, expertise and influence. Similar organisations also exist in New Zealand, Spain, Ukraine, and elsewhere under similar banners. There was a merger of Age Concern England and Help the Aged; and somewhat later Age UK has taken over the mantle of  the national face of concern for the aged in the UK, and several local organisations have also adopted the new name, but many local organisations continued to operate as local Age Concerns. One of these was Age Concern Manchester, and other examples are Age Concern Luton and Age Concern Central Lancashire. History. Age Concern's origins are in the United Kingdom and can be traced back to a realisation in that country of the effects on aged people of the Second World War; the dislocation and breakdown of family life arising out of conscription led to a recognition that existing  poor laws failed to provide effective support for old people separated from family support networks. In 1940, the Old People's Welfare Committee (OPWC), chaired by Eleanor Rathbone, was formed as a forum for discussion between government and voluntary organisations. OPWC was a sub-committee of Liverpool Personal Service Society (PSS). In 1944, the committee changed its name to the National Old People's Welfare Committee (NOPWC), and took on responsibility for coordinating the activities of numerous local OPWCs. From the 1950s onwards, NOPWC accessed government and local funds associated with the post-war development of the welfare state, to  provide services to local committees, and training to wardens of old people's homes. In 1968 it became clear to Denise Newman. the then chairman of the NOPW council, that an organisation funded within government and run by unaccountable grandees was not an effective voice for the needs of the elderly. At that time the funding allocated from government through the Department of Social Services was £40,000 a year. One problem was that the minister responsible (Dick Crossman) was not in a position politically to guarantee that should the group break with government that the funds would naturally follow  to the new entity. So it was the taking of this funding risk which initially marked out Age Concern as part of a new way of dealing with what could be seen as a government supported charitable exercise. Secondly, having successfully established itself with its own premises and retained its £40,000 grant, Newman then insisted that the newly appointed CEO be salaried, and therefore accountable. This was the first salaried appointment of the senior executive of any charity in the UK. In 1971, under the new direction of David Hobman, the NOPWC changed its public name to "Age Concern