Forum folds as members mourn demise

Older people across Dumfries and Galloway, one of the regions of Scotland with the largest percentage of people in later life, have this week lost their voice of representation.
A lack of both funding and co-operation was blamed for the downfall of Scotland's largest seniors' forum when members voted unanimously to dissolve the group on Monday.
The forum had reported combined losses of £18,008 for 2010 and 2011 and without any agreement on the level of future funding from the council they decided that they could not continue.
The executive committee accused the local authority of "washing its hands" of the forum, which had more than 3,300 members in the region.
The forum's development manager, Carole Williams, said:  "We have been prudent and haven't wasted a penny in the face of a series of cuts in funding. What has really been the crunch for us has been the lack of co-operation from the council.
"The Third Sector Funding Review, which started in March, 2009, and is effectively still under discussion nearly three years later, has now produced no more than a stop-gap solution."
John White, vice chairman and treasurer, said: "We have been standing up for the elderly in Dumfries and Galloway for 22 years but the fact is you cannot run any organisation without funding.
"So it's with a heavy heart that we close after 22 years but there is no alternative. It's getting more and more difficult to run charitable organisations and I predict others will go as well."
The charity has £4,144.57 in the bank, which will be transferred to Age Scotland, with whom forum chairman Hugh Wilson has pledged to work saying: "We will be cooperating closely with Age Scotland now to try and ensure that old folk in Dumfriesshire get the best possible representation."
Paula Cochran, Age Scotland's Charity and Community Services Manager for South and West Scotland said: "We are extremely saddened by the loss of Dumfries and Galloway Seniors Forum, a body that has worked tirelessly throughout the years giving older people in Dumfries and Galloway the opportunity to have a voice both regionally and at a national level.
"Age Scotland is committed to continuing to work with and support those from the former Forum so that older people across the region can still be represented and have their voices heard."
Dumfries and Galloway Council has in the meantime insisted it would have continued to support the forum. A spokesman said: "The council agreed at its meeting of policy and resources committee in September that those organisations, including the seniors' forum, which may be commissioned in the year 2013/14, would be funded for a further year at the same level as the current financial year.
"Consultation and engagement with older people are vitally important for both Dumfries and Galloway Council and the NHS and we have a wide range of organisations which support engagement and consultation. These include the Older People's Consultative Group and the Public Partnership Forum." Tweet