Age-Friendly Monmouthshire partners have interpreted, applied and implemented national policy at the local level, recognising older people as valued citizens and members of the community. It has, within its local policy and plans, shaped initiatives to meet local need, with a focus on local and community led delivery. For example, Monmouthshire County Council’s Community & Corporate Plan 2022-28 recognises that our population is ageing, with a higher-than-average proportion of older people in the county. People live for longer and are healthier here than in most other places.

Average healthy life expectancy in Monmouthshire is 69.3 years for females and 68.7 years for males, both of which are above the average for Wales and the other local authorities in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area.

The Community & Corporate Plan has 6 objectives which support age friendly communities, including Monmouthshire being a “fair place… a safe place… a connected place… and a learning place” to live. It has a number of actions which will benefit the older population, and complement the WHO Age-Friendly domains.

We work in partnership to jointly deliver priorities in a number of other plans, which include the Gwent Wellbeing Plan which sits under the Public Services Board, which brings public bodies together to work to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Gwent, and is responsible, under the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act, for overseeing the development of the new Local Wellbeing Plan. We also work jointly to deliver the Regional Area Plan which sits under the Regional Partnership Board, which brings local councils and health boards together. They help plan and work together to make sure that local care and support services are available for people living in the community. The Gwent RPB has a number of focuses, including helping older people with care and support needs, long term health conditions and dementia.

As an Age-Friendly community we want to work alongside and with citizens, neighbourhoods and communities. We recognise that people are the experts in their own lives. We will work to understand what matters to people and what we can do together so that we can all see the benefits.