District Profiles - Great Yarmouth

Population

The total population (2008) of Great Yarmouth is 95,900 (ons) of which 20.43% is over 65 and with a further 20.64% aged between 50 and 64. Over the next 10 years the projected percentage of older people as a proportion of the total population is expected to increase to 24.61%

The second smallest district in the county covering only 67.12 square miles, Great Yarmouth is relatively densely populated. The major areas of population are centred on Great Yarmouth town, Caistor and Gorleston and other coastal villages. Public transport includes frequent and extensive bus and train routes between major population centres and Norwich.

Housing

86.63 % of the housing stock is owner occupied, lower than the county average, and Great Yarmouth District Council is the largest single provider of public sector stock.

Within the total housing stock of 45,776 homes it is estimated that there are 13,175 homes occupied solely by older people, the majority of which, in line with the area as a whole, are owner occupiers. It is not possible to break down some of these figures further in relation to the condition of older people’s housing as the data is not available.

In 2008 there were 5,972 applicants on the housing waiting list of which 1,695 were over 60. This is a higher level of applicants than elsewhere in the county, except for Norwich which has similar levels. Of these older people, 1,233 were under 74, 1,683 aged between 75-79, and 279 over 80.

It is clear that there is a significant demand for rented housing stock from older people in the area. It is possible that a number of those applicants would be willing to remain in their own homes with support and advice. It is also clear that there is insufficient supply to meet that level of demand.

Social Care

Of the 13,000 households of older people in Great Yarmouth, 9,402 are currently in contact with Social Services, the majority of which are people over 85 years old.

Whilst a significant proportion of this support is provided through Social Services, it is estimated that there are over 2,243 people over the age of 65 currently providing unpaid care services to their family and friends and that this is set to rise in line with the population to nearly 3,509 aged carers by 2030.

Adult Social Services has contact with 9,420 clients aged over 65 in Great Yarmouth accessing a range of services, including a large number using equipment supplied through OT services or through Disabled Facility Grants, which in Great Yarmouth for 09/10 totalled £600,000.

Health

Great Yarmouth has significantly higher levels of deprivation than the averages for England, with 5 wards in the top fifth most deprived wards in the country. Life expectancy for men in these wards is 9 years lower than for least deprived wards. Numbers of adults who smoke, adults suffering diabetes, and levels of obesity are significantly above national averages.

Overall life expectancy, early death rates and figures for hip injuries in people aged over 65 are not significantly different from the national average. Projections for people with dementia, health limitations through strokes and limiting long term illness all show increases in the projections to 2030, growing in line with increases in the older person’s population.

Community Health Care and practices in the Great Yarmouth area are not part of the Norfolk Countywide GP hub of Community Health Services.

Income and Benefits

In 2008 of the estimated 23,308 people over 60 in Great Yarmouth, nearly 22,091 were claiming state retirement pension. Of the total, 36.37% were in receipt of pension tax credits indicating poorer households, whilst 15.49% were recorded as being ‘affluent greys’ by ACORN segmentation.

These figures indicate that the older population in Great Yarmouth is less well off and has a higher proportion of older people living in poorer households than any other district apart from Norwich.

Claimants of attendance allowance in older person’s households in 2008 stood at 3185 of which 1665 were at the lower rate and 1520 at the higher rate, indicating high levels of personal care requirements.

Sheltered Housing, Residential, Nursing Home and Housing with Care Provision

Great Yarmouth has 1,049 Supporting People funded units of sheltered housing on 32 schemes belonging to 4 different providers, the bulk of the sheltered homes being owned by the district council and 85 units of Housing with Care provided by Orbit Housing Association and Norfolk County Council.

Some existing sheltered housing schemes in the district do not meet the standards that applicants expect or that providers wish to offer.

The bulk of sheltered stock is located within the more densely populated areas of Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Caistor with small schemes at Hemsby and Martham. The three Housing with Care schemes are located in Great Yarmouth and Gorleston.

There is a projected surplus of 159 long stay care home places, against projected deficits of 161 Housing with Care places, 60 short stay care places, 87 care home places with nursing and 159 dementia care homes places with or without nursing. Although there are currently adequate dementia care beds, it is felt that about 70 are in homes that do not meet current good practice standards.

The number of units per 1000 population and the number of units per 1000 of the population aged 65+ are higher than the averages for the county.

Current Supporting People Funding

Total possible spending by Supporting People for supported housing in Great Yarmouth is as follows:

Sheltered Housing - £587,076 allocated between 1049 units
Housing with Care - £69,607 allocated between 85 units

There is some support for alarm provision in the district with £3612.44 of funding supporting 38 units.

Housing Support Priorities for Great Yarmouth

As a large majority of older people are living in homes that they own we know from what they have told us that maintenance, security and affordability are major issues and what often drives them to seek sheltered housing, so it would be appropriate to target support to these areas and allow people to choose to remain living independently if they wish.

The high level of older applicants for rented housing will probably include a number who feel they are unable to manage their own homes and might prefer to remain at home if adequate assistance and advice was provided through housing support. The current public sector housing stock cannot meet this level of demand.

The income profiles of older people in Great Yarmouth are low in comparison to the rest of the county and they may struggle to purchase necessary services and may benefit from support to access available funding and benefits.

The bulk of Social Services clients in the area are accessing equipment (aids to living) and professional support, followed by home care. Very few are using personalised budgets. It is probable that housing support working closely with home improvement and community health, could signpost and empower clients to access aids and adaptations appropriate to their needs and help with accessing funding and benefits, where older people are unable to fund support themselves.

The density of population in such a small geographical area means that most of the district could benefit from outreach services from existing schemes with minimal travel.

<<< Back to Appendix 2: District Profiles