History of the Commission
The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales came into being on 21 April 2008 after a commitment for the Commission’s existence in the Labour Party’s election manifesto and a recommendation from the Advisory Group on the Strategy for Older People in Wales in 2003. After research, consultation and debate, the Commission for Older People (Wales) Bill was passed through Parliament and received Royal Assent on 25 July 2006.
Ruth Marks was appointed as the first Commissioner. Her first decision, once she’d assumed her legal powers, was to amend her title from the Commissioner for Older People in Wales to the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales. The move was a subtle change but one that placed older people at the heart of the organisation.
Over 400 pieces of correspondence had been received by the Commission before it was set up. These were from individuals and organisations across Wales, including requests for the Commissioner to speak at conferences and attend meetings and from older people with specific views, concerns and comments. This led to the Commissioner attending many consultation events with older people across Wales as well as meeting with representatives of key organisations. These have influenced our key policy of listening to older people in Wales and ensuring that our work is informed by their views, issues and concerns.
One of the first examples of working with older people came when, in partnership with the University of the Third Age, Age Concern, local groups and several other organisations, a competition was launched to design a logo and strap line for the Commission.
In October 2008 we moved from temporary offices on Cathedral Road, Cardiff to a permanent base in Cambrian Buildings, based at the heart of Cardiff’s historic Butetown community.
The following month, Sarah Stone was appointed as Deputy Older People’s Commissioner for Wales and we worked to review the scope of our legal powers in order to gain a clearer understanding of our legal role and remit.
By January 2009, we had developed our Interim Strategic Plan. The Plan sets out our vision, ‘We want to see a Wales in which respect for the rights and dignity of older people is a reality in all areas of life, where age discrimination is a thing of the past and where a positive view of older people and ageing prevails.’
In the same month, we appointed an Audit Committee to support and challenge our work. We also identified staffing priorities to make the most of our legal powers and focus on the priorities that older people have identified.
From February 2009, we commenced further recruitment of our staff team so we could continue and expand our work.