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68
Holidays.—A sum of £1,675 was made available to the Greenwich
Old People's Welfare Association for providing recreation and
holidays for old people. Under the Pensioners' Holiday Scheme
and in conjunction with the Margate Hotel and Boarding Association
arrangements were made for 229 old people to spend a fortnight's
holiday at Margate in September.
Admirable and diverse though these schemes are in satisfying
certain needs of the aged, it is my conviction that the answer to our
problem lies not wholly in the provision of these kinds of amenities
but also in creating contentment in the elderly by stimulating
activity of the hands and minds in order to impart a purpose to life
and so to produce a feeling of self-reliance. Spending, however
lavish, on the provision of diversions and entertainments is merely
palliative ; the secret, I feel sure, is in making the elderly feel
' wanted ' and that they are an integral part of the community and
its life.
At various times in this Report I have pointed out the multiplicity
of agencies concerned directly and indirectly with the welfare
of the aged and infirm and that some co-ordination of them was not
only desirable but essential if maximum benefits were to be made
available to all the elderly. I am more than ever convinced that
the general improvement in the health and welfare of the elderly is
to be gained not by the casual haphazard and sporadic approach,
but only by a joint or team effort with some form of central co—
ordination and direction.
That this can be achieved solely by voluntary organisation is
rather problematical and here it is inevitable that one is drawn to
an analogy between Old Age Welfare and Child Welfare; the latter
service as we know it to-day was founded on the pioneer work of
voluntary bodies, but eventually national recognition was effected
and Local Government control instituted. At the moment, however,
by virtue of the present legal position the Council is precluded
from taking any direct part in this work and is limited to giving
financial aid to Old People's voluntary organisations.
Burial or Cremation of the Dead.—Under Section 50 of
the National Assistance Act, 1948, the Council is required to arrange
for the burial or cremation of any person who has died or has been
found dead in the Borough if in such cases it appears to the Council
that no suitable funeral arrangements have been or are being made.
The Council is empowered, if it so desires, to recover expenses
for the burial or cremation from the estate of the deceased person or
from any person who, for the purposes of this Act, was liable to
maintain the deceased person immediately prior to his death.