A belief that Age UK’s intention to sign-up independent Age Concerns as brand partners is commercially-driven, rather than service-led, is amongst the reasons that independent Age Concerns are deciding not to join the Age UK brand.

Independent Age Concerns have until the end of March to decide whether to become brand partners with Age UK, the charity formed from the merger between Help the Aged and Age Concern last year.

So far, around 115 out of around 300 independent Age Concerns have decided to become brand partners with Age UK.

However, seven Age Concerns have confirmed they will not become brand partners, including Age Concern Exmouth, which has sent a detailed letter to Tom Wright, chief executive of Age UK, spelling out its key reasons for not joining the Age UK brand.

The letter says the trustees and chief officer of Age Concern Exmouth feel that partnering with Age UK will lead to a loss of autonomy within its locality and their were concerns over being accountable to a London-based organisation which would not understand local needs.

Also, there was the feeling that Age UK was a new and “untested organisation,” compared with Age Concern Exmouth’s 30-year-history and it was mindful that other, sometimes larger Age Concerns were deciding not to sign up to the Age UK brand.

The letter adds that there were serious issues concerning the level of funding that would be provided by public donations not effectively being spent at local level:

“A lot of expense has to be met by the central charity before reaching local centres and even then the funding would only be by an application grant process, which is restrictive,” it says.

Further, Age Concern Exmouth felt Age UK’s intentions were more commercially driven, rather than service-led.

“It is clear that much of Age UK’s focus would be on collecting data for the sake of statistics,” the letter says, “Thus not reflecting the quality of the real work that happens at our local ‘coalface’.

Steve Dace, chief officer of Age Concern Exmouth said the charity has decided instead to join a group of independent Age Concerns which are setting up their own trading company to be called advent-Age.

Helena Herklots, services director at Age UK, said:

“Age Concern Exmouth has decided not to join us as a local Age UK taking the number which have declined our offer to seven. This is a shame and we wish them well for the future."

She added:

 “There are over 300 local Age Concerns across England and we have always estimated that roughly half will choose to become local Age UKs and about half will choose to become a friend of Age UK.

"There will of course be a small number of local Age Concerns who do not wish to become either a local Age UK or a Friend. Each Age Concern has to do what they believe is right for them and we respect their decisions as independent charities.”