Strategy For An Ageing Population
A long-term strategy, All Our Futures: Planning for a Scotland with an Ageing Population, has been published by the Scottish Executive and outlines the opportunities and choice available to people as they get older.
By 2031 the number of people aged over 50 in Scotland is projected to rise by 28 per cent and the number aged over 75 is projected to increase by 75 per cent.
First Minister Jack McConnell said: “Improving the quality of life for older people and creating opportunities for us as a country to benefit from their experience, is what this strategy is all about. We need to break down barriers between generations and we need to ensure that services are in place so that people can live life to the full as they grow older. We must stop seeing our ageing population as a burden. We need to think about the opportunities it can offer both socially and economically.”
This plan follows one of the most extensive consultation and engagement processes ever undertaken by the Executive. The consultation identified six priority areas for action:
- 1. improving opportunities and removing barriers
- 2. forging better links between the generations
- 3. improving and maintaining health and well being
- 4. improving care, support and protection for older people
- 5. developing housing, transport and planning services
- 6. offering learning opportunities throughout life
The Executive has allocated £27 million of funding to support the strategy. This includes the establishment of a National Forum on Ageing and a new Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice to improve links between young and old.
Through the strategy, additional funding of £14 million in 2007-08 will be made on fuel poverty programmes, including the Central Heating Programme.
An additional £10 million of funding has also been allocated in 2007-08 to help homeowners adapt their homes to meet their changing needs and help older people stay in their homes and communities for longer.
Communities Minister Rhona Brankin said: “As the population ages, and the proportion of older people increases, we want to be sure that Scotland can benefit from the experience of older people. This is not about making people work until they drop. This is about identifying and removing the barriers that prevent people doing what they want as they get older, whether that is paid work, volunteering, or pursuing other opportunities to enrich their lives and communities.
“We can already be proud of the better services for older people – free central heating, free personal care and free local bus travel. These are major achievements of devolution. But more needs to be done. This strategy sets a challenge for the next 20-years. We are entering a new era for ageing well in Scotland and we need the help of local authorities, public agencies, education bodies, the private sector and voluntary sector, to make this strategy a success.”
Lord Sutherland of Houndwood, who chaired the Scottish Parliament’s Futures Forum’s recent study into the ageing population, said: “There is a positive side to growing old. The Scottish Executive has recognised this and proposes to act. Some older people need care and the Scottish Parliament has responded creditably. For the majority, however, what is required is opportunity to flourish and contribute to the wider community. The Executive has taken Futures Forum recommendations on board. This could be another example of Scotland in the vanguard.”
The strategy has also been welcomed by older people’s charities and groups such as Age Concern Scotland, Help the Aged and the Scottish Pensioners’ Forum.
David Manion, Chief Executive of Age Concern Scotland, said: “If people want to know how older age will look in the future, they should ask today’s older people. The Executive has done that and the result is a forward-looking, radical and comprehensive new look at changing how we, as a nation, view old age and the challenge of an older population profile. Age Concern Scotland worked very closely with the Executive on the development of this strategy and is pleased to be associated with what will be a defining public policy approach for future generations.”
Liz Duncan of Help the Aged in Scotland said: “This is another major step along the long road towards making Scotland a truly barrier-free and tolerant society. It puts in place a framework for the challenges ahead and as such is a timely addition to the tools we have at present. This strategy should enable us to enjoy the contributions of the older members of our communities, now and into the future.”
Irene Sweeney of the Scottish Pensioners’ Forum said: “This is an excellent document which will be welcomed by most pensioners. “It is the first time that older people have been consulted and had real input into such a strategy and that is what makes it special. It is what older people want – not what society thinks we want.
“It sets out a framework for the next 20 years and we expect the Parliament, the Executive and all the other bodies to deliver on the vision and commitments outlined in it.” Cllr Charles Gray, COSLA Older Persons’ Spokesperson, said: “I am delighted at the publication of this strategy. As COSLA’s Older Persons’ Spokesperson I have been acutely conscious that, until now, we lacked evidence of Scottish Executive commitment to our older people and the issues that affect them.
“While the strategy represents the culmination of more than a year’s very hard work by very many people, the real challenge in implementing its recommendations, is only just beginning. COSLA looks forward to playing a full part in that work.”
