Information Note 3: Accommodation for Older People Below we set out the principal options open to elderly people seeking housing accommodation in the UK suited to their needs. The choice of where and how to live is such a personal matter that only general advice can be offered. Most models of accommodation will provide appropriate support to reflect the variation in physical or mental agility but can also provide something more appropriate to your lifestyle. Many factors should be carefully considered when seeking accommodation such as your health prospects, friends and family, local amenities, transport, pets and social activities in the community. Age UK provides comprehensive information on all aspects covered in this note. Living at Home You may wish to continue to live in your present home, with adaptations to suit your needs. These could include a grab-rail, a walk-in shower, walking aids, installing a stair lift, living on one floor only, bringing electric sockets within easy reach, building raised flower beds, and carrying a personal alarm system in the event of a fall or otherwise needing assistance. ‘Meals on wheels’ are available in some areas. Transport to clinics and lunch clubs may also be available in the local community. Domiciliary nursing and personal care or live-in carers can be arranged. The Care Quality Commission offers a list of all companies with regulated services which are registered with them. Your local Health and Social Care Services can provide comprehensive advice when considering any of the above measures. Some of these services come at a cost, although some support from the local authority, your UN Health Insurance Scheme or the BAFUNCS Benevolent Fund may be available. If you are under state pension age and have a long term health condition or are disabled and, therefore, require extra help, you may be able to claim Personal Independence Payment. If you are over pension age, you may be eligible for an Attendance Allowance. Both of these benefits are not means tested and are not taxable. A Carer’s Allowance (taxable and means tested) may also be payable to someone who cares for an individual with substantial caring needs. See the link below for more detailed information on eligibility and how to apply. We strongly advise you to consult at least one of the following – a social worker, occupational therapist, general practitioner (GP) or a family member – to assist with your application. Retirement or sheltered housing These consist of purpose-built or suitably converted apartments and bungalows which provide private living accommodation, with some communal and security facilities available. They can be provided and managed by the local County Council, housing associations, charities or independent companies and are available to purchase (usually leasehold) or rent. There may be a communal lounge and dining room, and overnight guest accommodation. A full-time warden/manager is on call and domiciliary, nursing and medical care is generally available. For many relatively self-sufficient elderly people this option is ideal, offering both independence and care when needed – the best of both worlds. Check your local area for Social Housing through the Citizen’s Advice. McCarthy and Stone and Churchill Apartments are examples of leading providers in the independent sector. It is advised that you consider carefully the financial implications of signing up with a private provider. Residential and Nursing Care Homes Some homes are run as businesses, others as non-profit operations by charities, professional groups, friendly societies or religious bodies. There are very few care homes presently managed by local authorities. Such homes employ trained domiciliary staff to assist residents with personal care to allow for maximum independence. There is usually a communal dining room and lounge and social events are often organised. Nursing and other medical professionals are brought in as required. Nursing care homes are similar to, and often combined with, residential care homes but are managed and staffed round the clock by qualified nurses. All Care Homes are required to be registered with the Care Quality Commission which offers a comprehensive website of all care homes across the UK with copies of inspection reports. Carehome.co.uk is a leading search site for care homes across the UK. Convalescence and Respite Care This can in some instances be provided by Local Health and Social Care Services if the criteria are met. Otherwise your Health Insurance Scheme or the BAFUNCS Benevolent Fund may be able to assist. Health and Social Care in the UK Health and Social Care Services have a key role in ensuring the appropriate housing of all elderly people in their area. It is their duty, when alerted, to assess the needs of such individuals and to see that accommodation and support are provided. Access to Health and Social Care is locally available through the County Council to assess an individual’s needs and, if necessary, to provide the appropriate support required. You are not obliged to follow their recommendations, but the advice of their assessors and occupational therapists should be given careful thought. If at a later date you seek their advice or financial support, it may be easier for them to respond if they have been involved from the start. Other Useful Resources Turn2US – this site offers an anonymous benefits calculator. Age UK Age UK Advice Line: 0800 678 1602 Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year. Care Quality Commission Citizen’s Advice. Attendance Allowance Personal Independence Allowance BAFUNCS Benevolent Fund McCarthy and Stone and Churchill Apartments Care Co and Local Mobility Shops

                BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF FORMER UNITED NATIONS CIVIL SERVANTS 14th July 2022 We hope this finds all of our WMW members doing well, enjoying the summer and life with less or no Covid restrictions during your social interactions. Regarding social gatherings, I have had reports that the 43rd Annual Reunion in York was a great success and approximately 60 members attended the meeting. Several members booked an extended stay, to enable them to visit more of the local sites. There were also a few members who were able to visit using their mobility scooters and or wheelchairs. The access for people using mobility equipment is on the agenda, to be part of the checklist for future venues for the AR. Photo’s and other information about the York AR and AGM are on the Bafuncs website, in the recent Bafuncs News Bulletin and in the Autumn Newsletter that will be send out later this year. For the WMW region I had planned a luncheon date on Thursday, 15 September 2022, however, I will be cancelling this, because for various reasons, no members were able to attend the previous lunch in April. I understand that for a large group of members in our region, age, health and mobility is becoming more of an issue and that people are not able to join the Bafuncs outings any longer. With that in mind, I am putting forth an idea that might be more suitable for the WMW region, because it so large and travel distance is quite an issue. We could do a once a year, 2 day event (like they do in the Northern Region), starting next year spring, at a location somewhere in the WMW, but in a place that can also be reached by public transport. It could be combined with an outing to a museum, cathedral or other sights of interest. This does mean an overnight stay, a hotel booking and a restaurant booking, unless there is a hotel that has a good restaurant on the premises, which would simplify things. I would appreciate hearing from our region’s members how you feel about this idea and if there is any interest in this new approach for social events in the WMW. Please let me know your idea’s and opinions, by either regular mail, email or phone. I look forward to hearing from you. On June 9 the Member Support group held a meeting by Zoom and the Regional Representative Zoom meeting was on June 16. We heard in the meetings that the Bafuncs Benevolent Fund (BBF) has been able to assist a few Afghan refugees, currently studying in the UK, who formerly worked for the UN. Certain criteria have to be met for the BBF, to be able to give some form of support to the refugees. During the Member Support meeting it was mentioned that some members still have difficulty in communicating with CIGNA. For members who have the use of a smartphone, there is a CIGNA App, through which all claims and a direct phone call request can be made. The App information will be posted in the near future on the Bafuncs website. For those of you able to access the Bafuncs website, there are various “Information Notes” available for members to peruse. Information note # 5 is on “Taxation in the UK” and it was updated March 2021, with extensive information on various tax issues. For tax questions members can also contact Mr Alnoor Nathoo at email: farialnoor@gmail.com and mobile: 07440274341. As the cost of living has increased a lot in the last 2 years, some people may find it harder to make ends meet, experiencing financial insecurity. The BBF is a Registered Charity that can give short term financial assistance to any former employee of the UN or its organisations, residing in the UK. Certain criteria have to be met to quality for assistance. Beneficiaries do not have to be a member of Bafuncs. An application form can be found on the website, alternatively I could mail one to you if you do not have access to the website. Another organization that could be of assistance is “Turn2us”, a national UK Charity giving practical information and support to people facing financial insecurity. Website: www.turn2us.org.uk. Tel: 020 88349200, Hythe House, 200 Shepherds Bush Rd, London W6 7NL. In order to reduce our cost, I will send the large majority of this interim news letter to the email addresses on file in the membership listing. For the members without email access, I will send a regular mailing. Please inform/update the Membership Secretary or myself of any changes to your email, home address and subscription information. The Membership Secretary is: Mr Duncan Barclay, 23 Schaw House, 69 Schaw House, Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, G61 3AT. Email: duncanbarclay95@hotmail.com. For the Annual Reunion 2023, the Executive Committee has decided to experiment with a new approach for our annual gathering. Plans are being made to arrange a meeting in the birthplace of Bafuncs, the Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL), where on 21 July 1977, 11 British UN retirees established a “UN Veterans Association”, that is still going strong 45 years later. It will be the usual 3 days for May 2023, with a formal dinner at the ROSL, with possibly an afternoon tea, guest speakers, one or two London walks and or museum and theatre visits. It is decided that members will make their own hotel reservations wherever they like. An organizing committee is currently being set up. Keep an eye out for AR 2023 information on the Bafuncs Web Bulletin! International Day of Peacekeepers was held on 26 May 2022 at the Cenotaph in London. Bafuncs was represented by Mr Tekeste Ghebray of the London region. Last, but not least, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest WMW member, Mrs Mary Manandhar. Hopefully we can meet up some time at one of the lunches or another social event. Further I want to thank the many members who sent me their beautiful Easter cards, some even hand painted! Thank you for keeping in touch. Useful Information: —Sollicitors for the Elderly (SFE) website: https://sfe.legal Tel: 0844 567 6173 The legal team can help locate a solicitor in your area. —Website: simpleenergyadvice.org.uk Tel: 0800 444202 (advice on reducing energy bills, home improvements, make you home greener) With kind regards, Edith Davis

                Surrey Summer Newsletter (SRY) July 14th, 2022 Dear Members, The Surrey Region has had an active programme during the first half of 2022, including 2 Committee meetings held in January and April.  Five Surrey members attended the Annual Reunion in York in late May.  Hopefully, with next year’s Annual Reunion being conveniently located in London, more members will be able to attend. Ann Chaplin: Surrey Regional Representative 2008-2022 The Spring Lunch and AGM was held on March 8th at The Angel Inn in Thames Ditton and was attended by over 20 people.  The opportunity was taken to give a special vote of thanks to three members of the committee who have stood down during the past year after serving for over 50 years between them.  Ann Chapman (pictured), Alison Husaunndee, and Pat Mukhtar (pictured) have been the face of the Surrey Region for more than a decade and their presence on the Committee will be sadly missed, although we know they will continue to play an active role in Regional activities.  Pat’s dual roles as Social Secretary and Helpline/Welfare Officer have now been filled by Annie Kean and Joanna Tempowski respectively, but we still are looking for a replacement for Alison as Secretary and Ann as Regional Representative.  Following the lunch, we were very pleased to welcome Martin Barber who gave a presentation on United Against Inhumanity of which he is a Founding Member of the International Executive Committee. Pat Mukhtar:  Surrey Region Social Secretary and Member Support until 2021 with Gerard Teunissen who gave a personal vote of thanks for the care and attention received from Pat during a recent illness. At the AGM, members were presented with a choice of 6 venues for a summer outing and preference was given to Chiswick House and Gardens in West London.  This visit was arranged for 28th June and was attended by 18 members including 3 members from the London Region.  There was a tour of the House during the morning with a very knowledgeable guide who gave a detailed overview of its history and of the Earl of Burlington who created it and the Devonshire family who inherited the estate through marriage and added it to their already extensive collection of properties including Chatsworth House in the Peak District.  This was followed by an enjoyable lunch in the cafeteria and a guided tour of the wonderful gardens in the afternoon (pictured). Chiswick House and Gardens:  Surrey Summer Outing, June 28th, 2022. The next planned event will be the Christmas lunch……probably to be held during the first week of December at The Angel Inn in Thames Ditton.  Further information and invitations will be circulated in November with members from neighbouring regions being welcome to join us. With warm regards to all Marilyn Carr

As part of the process of transitioning to a new phase of the UN Career Records Project, Michael Askwith, who was its Coordinator from 2003 to May 2021, has prepared a review of the project since its inception in 1989 under the title of Review of UNCRP Activities under Phase I (1989 – 1995) and Phase II (2003 – 2021). Part I Results and Recommendations (45 pages) assesses the main results of the two phases, generated through contributions of personal archives and reports, and witness seminars, with illustrations. It also makes recommendations for follow-up in the context of the next phase, Phase III. A total of 31 recommendations are made in seven areas relating to 1) The future supply of career records, 2) Awareness-raising, 3) Facilitating access, 4) Witness seminars, 5) Outreach, 6) Governance and management, and 7) Use by researchers. Electronic links to key documents produced are also given. Part II Annexes (287 pages) is made up of twelve Annexes, broken down into about ninety ‘sub-annexes’ covering the UNCRP’s past history and the key documents which have signposted its progress. These Annexes relate to 1) Formal frameworks, 2) Progress reports prepared for EXCO, 3) Meetings with and/or at the Bodleian Library, 4) UNCRP presentations at Annual Reunions, 5) UNCRP website pages (BAFUNCS and Bodleian), 6) Outputs produced, 7) Fundraising, 8) Lists of contributors, 9) Participation in Witness Seminars, 10) Potential partnerships with organisations involved in UN studies, 11) UNCRP in 2021, some thoughts by Bill Jackson, and 12) Databases for recording contributions (Excel). Part I is hereby posted on this website while Part II, because of its bulk and of the large number of contributors’ names, is omitted. It can however be accessed by interested parties through the UNCRP Coordinator. Michael Askwith