Founded 1980
Chair:        
Secretary: 
Treasurer: 

Graham Smith
Jan Thompson
Graham Mumby-Croft


 Issue No. 85 Autumn 2021
Welcome to this autumn edition of the RPGA newsletter, I hope you are safe and well during these testing times. Your committee are grateful for the editing of this edition by Graham Mumby-Croft. Paul Laxton will return as editor for the spring 2022 edition.

At the time of writing [early September 2021] social care is the hot topic of conversation [here we go again], after a long rest and decisions on policy, funding, taxes and an appropriate mix of politics are doing the rounds yet again. Triple lock has stalled as current policy could give us an 8% increase if the maths is right, and so we now have the double lock which to be fair is more defensible.

I do not intend to get involved with the morals of these issues, but I am aware that our members may from time to time need to make use
of support services, especially those of us with a lot of miles on the clock and so have a stake in the outcomes of the decisions to be made. Boris has established funding via increases in National Insurance contributions and whether you agree with that or not, the funding has to come from somewhere.

Our associates in the CSPA will no doubt be contributing to the debates that follow. Mind you, Boris has declared that he is going to fix social care “once and for all” so that’s OK isn’t it? Let’s hope throwing a load of money at it improves the current position. Do you have a view you can share via the newsletter? If so, write/contact Paul Laxton.

From Pandemic to Endemic! Covid hangs around, though nothing like the impact it originally had. The RPGA seem to have weathered the storm as far as we know. We have got used to checking for a mask when we go anywhere, and all the new terminology flows freely. Let’s hope the decline in cases continues but I guess we will always be aware of the danger and our vulnerability in future.

Some of your committee will have attended the 2021 PGA Annual conference and are also hosting the RPGA AGM in early October, trying to raise our profile and encourage recruitment. I hope some of you will have attended to improve the representation of members.

Thanks as ever to my committee for their continued work and time, which enables the RPGA to continue to deliver what we can to our valued members old and new. Thank you for your ongoing support, your views are always welcome and, in particular, items for the newsletter.



Graham Smith, RPGA chairman





Graham Smith JP