TAVISTOCK and Okehampton activists working for a better deal for people aged 50-plus are among those who have won top-level recognition for 'grasping the nettle' of the challenges facing an ageing population.

More than 200 delegates from across Devon and a countywide live audience on BBC Radio Devon, heard high-profile speakers at the Senior Council for Devon's 'Everyone's Tomorrow' conference and information fair in Exeter.

Pensions' minister Angela Eagle MP said the Senior Council for Devon, the voluntary forum for older people, had demonstrated just how to grasp the nettle of dealing with the issues affecting an ageing population.

She added: 'You are going from strength to strength, and have achieved a lot in a short amount of time, in diversity and range, from dementia awareness campaigns to hobbies and skills and silver surfing.'

The minister said the Government planned to outlaw age discrimination by 2012, with a review currently going through Parliament. And she announced that from April carers would be able to claim credits in their national insurance contributions to the basic state pension.

Also speaking were Cllr John Hart, leader of Devon County Council; Rebecca Harriott, deputy chief executive of NHS Devon; and BBC Radio Devon personality Tony Beard.

The chair of the Senior Council for Devon's Okehampton group, Margaret Woolacott, said: 'The conference/information fair was a really worthwhile event, because it gave the public an opportunity to learn about the Senior Council, which is a very new group. There was a lot of positive feedback, and many of those I invited were impressed.

The secretary of the Senior Council for Devon's Tavistock group, Ann Wilson, added: 'It was a useful conference. I particularly enjoyed Tony Beard's speech, and thought that his views on rural transport fitted in very well with the current agenda.

'I also liked Rebecca Harriott's talk, in which she brought a personal touch by talking of how her elderly parents, who live in the Midlands, would find NHS services for older people in Devon if they moved to the county.'