10/09/2006 00:00
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By Jason Moore FOR many years now the plight of elderly British residents in our community has been a major concern and the Bulletin has often campaigned on their behalf for a better deal.

But as from tomorrow (Monday) and thanks to the hard work and dedication of new British Consul Paul Abrey and the President of Age Concern España, Judy Arnold-Boakes MBE, a new service is being introduced which should provide more mature residents with a real lifeline. Age Concern has established a helpline which will be manned by trained staff in the offices of the British Consulate in Palma. Age Concern staff will work alongside Consulate employees tackling all relevant issues and providing a real service for those in need. “The Foreign Office is delighted to work with venerable charities for the public good and here is a great example of such partnership,” Paul Abrey said.

He continued: “clearly our services complement each other and we have been working well together for many years. However we feel that npw is the tgime to cement our relationship further by working together on a national helpline.” The new service should be up and running by tomorrow or early this week with the Consulate in Palma acting as a nerve-centre for the whole of Spain.
The Age Concern helpline has a dedicated place in the new Consulate offices off the Plaza España in Palma. The Consulate is expected to move there from their present offices in the Plaza Mayor later this year.

According to official statistics off the more than one million British residents in Spain more than 40 percent are over the age of 50. More than 20 percent are over the age of 50.

Judy Arnold Boakes, who was awarded the MBE in this year Honours List for her services to help the aged in Spain, said that she was delighted with the helpline and underlined the important role which it would play.

The fact that the helpline was a established in Majorca, serving the whole of Spain, was something of a coup for the British Consulate and the local branch of “Age Concern.” Since being appointed to the post just under a year ago Paul Abrey has introduced some major changes for the local community which is rapidly becoming a real nerve-centre for British expatriates here and on the mainland.