A total of 16.446 euros has been reserved for other elected official administration expenses for 2024. This includes the elected official fees of the Council for the Elderly and Disabled and the Youth Council, notifications, travel and transportation services and other services. 2.000 euros have been reserved for events organized by the Council for the Elderly and Disabled.

The Satakunta district of the Finnish Pension Association is concerned about the unclear outlook for services in welfare areas and has made a statement on this. A large number of current health centers are planned to be closed and the number of 24-hour care places for the elderly will be reduced. Significant changes are coming to services that will affect services for the elderly and their availability.

In its statement, the Finnish Pensions Association considers it important that new services should be tested and their functionality verified. Other services should only be eliminated when the new services are known to be functional. When reducing bed spaces, there should be concrete plans for replacement arrangements. The statement also states that plans for practical solutions for communal living are not yet at a concrete level.

The Satakunta district of the Finnish Pension Association states that the number of elderly people will increase in the coming years, but the availability of personnel will decrease. The austerity measures in welfare areas threaten to weaken the position of elderly people who need services the most.

The Pension Union's statement emphasizes that The way social services are implemented should not be changed just for cost-saving reasons. Savings are needed, but the starting point should be that the services meet the individual needs of customers as well as possible.

The municipality of Kihniö belongs to the Pirkanmaa welfare area, but the Kihniö Association of the Finnish Pensioners' Association belongs to Satakunta, which is why the statement is being brought to the attention of the Kihniö Council for the Elderly and Disabled.

Appendix 1. Statement.

The Council for the Elderly and Disabled will discuss its activities for 2024. The budget has allocated 2.000 euros for organizing the event (e.g. a lecturer).

In addition:

• Meetings 2-4 times a year.
• We participate in national and regional campaigns.
• We participate in regional events whenever possible.
• We take a stand and issue statements on issues that have an impact on the living conditions of the population and their services.
• Let's participate in the activities of Seniors' Week.
• Where possible, we visit housing units for the elderly and disabled in the municipality/neighboring municipalities.
• We will inform you about the activities of the Council.
• Experts are invited to meetings.

• Pirkanmaa Welfare Region Senior Citizens Council webinar on Monday, December 4, 2023 at 10–11:30 a.m. Teams. Erkki Välimäki and Leena Ojala will participate.
• Christmas Mail for Seniors Campaign
• The Council for the Elderly and Disabled is holding a discussion on a joint church holiday for the councils for the elderly and directing the discussion on the topic to organizations.