Age and Experience

1
Age and Experience

• Developing the Strategy for a Scotland with an
  Ageing Population

2
Background

• Demographic change
• Fewer children
• Fewer people of traditional working age
• More people over state pension age
• Changes in migration and birthrate will not
  impact on overall change in age structure
• Ageing is a good thing! A success, and not to be
  feared

3
Also

• The need to change the dialogue from negative to
  positive
• Recognise, support, and value the contribution of
  older people
• Ageing population a benefit, not a burden
• Complements what has been done for todays older
  people free personal and nursing care free bus
  travel free central heating

4
What is the strategy aiming to do?

• To provide the framework for
• Access to opportunities for older people to make
  a continuing contribution, including
• identify and remove barriers to opportunities
• establish effective and diverse ways to involve
  older people in their communities and with
  government
• promote equal opportunities
• promote social inclusion
• combating stereotypical views of ageing.
• Effective integrated services for older people
• Promoting and maintaining health and wellbeing
• People living in accommodation and environments
  which continue to meet their needs and wishes as
  they age.

5
Opportunity and contribution

• Volunteers
• Care-givers
• Adults and children
• Workers
• Citizens

• Consumers
• Entrepreneurs
• Neighbours
• Artists
• and much more

6
Other issues

• Integrated services what more needs to be done?
  
• Promoting and maintaining health and well-being
  who and what?
• The built environment planned, flexible,
  suitable.

7
Objectives

• To address the challenges and opportunities of an
  ageing population in a sustainable way within an
  integrated and evidence based framework
• To realise the potential that an older population
  can bring, and to recognise the contribution
  that older people already make
• To maximise older peoples future involvement and
  contribution, including promoting active and
  healthy ageing, and to support those older people
  who wish to continue to work
• To provide a context within which to review and
  develop existing policies to ensure that they
  adequately respond to the challenges and
  opportunities of an ageing population in
  particular to set a direction of travel, identify
  gaps and ensure that priorities are right
• To set a framework to help others develop their
  own plans for action and for future services, and
  engage with the challenges and opportunities of
  an ageing population.

8
So how are we going to do this?

• Wide consultation before writing the strategy,
  with
• People of working age
• People approaching retirement
• Older people of all ages, including those
  recently retired and people in receipt of
  community care services
• Service providers, including those such as
  housing, education, etc which are not usually
  considered to be specific older peoples service
  providers, but whose services are likely to be
  affected by the change in the populations age
  profile
• The business sector
• The voluntary sector and community groups
• Professionals concerned with age and ageing
• Professionals in other disciplines which will be
  affected by the ageing population, particularly
  those concerned with planning for the future.

9
Consultation methods

• Consultation paper closes 5 June 2006
• Website www.infoscotland.com/experience
• Omnibus survey results on website
• Focus groups
• Subject specific seminars
• Policy briefing papers
• Advisory Group
• Older Peoples Consultative Forum

10

• Focus groups
• Different age cohorts
• Rural/urban
• Different equality perspectives
• Subject specific seminars in partnership
• For example local government older peoples
  issues rural ageing employment, training and
  lifelong learning built environment, design and
  technology social inclusion healthy ageing
  integrated services media and enterprise

11
In conclusion

• Strategy developed in the context of existing
  policies, strategies and initiatives
• Is about the ageing population, not a strategy
  for older people
• Encourage people to participate in the
  consultation