A voice for later life
We know many older people aren’t having the retirement they’d hoped for, whether that’s because of difficulties getting the right care and support or money worries. Dealing with these difficulties in later life can leave you feeling invisible and powerless.
We’re joining forces with other charities to call for a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England, and an Older People's Commissioner in Scotland, to raise awareness of the issues people face in later life and to bring together decision makers to make change happen.
Why do we need a Commissioner?
Watch as legends Tony Blackburn, Dame Arlene Phillips, Don Warrington, Sir Geoff Hurst and Rustie Lee discuss the hidden reality of ageing and why we need a Voice for later life.
We also heard directly from over 200 older people online and in a series of roadshows in cities across England about their experiences of growing older. In our latest report, you'll hear about the barriers stopping older people from enjoying the later life they'd planned for, and how a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing can help.
What we’ve achieved
In England, we worked with Age UK, the Centre for Ageing Better, and the National Pensioners Convention to call for a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing. We united over 70 organisations to support this call.
Independent Age, Age UK, the Centre for Ageing Better, and the National Pensioners Convention led a petition for the creation of a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England. With over 36,000 signatures, representatives from these organisations delivered the petition to 10 Downing Street and the Liberal Democrat headquarters. They carried placards illustrating a carrier pigeon, walkie-talkie, tin can and string, and a megaphone to highlight the difficulty older voices face in being heard.
You can read more in our press release Older people demand their voices are heard at Downing Street as they call for a Commissioner.
Calling for a Commissioner at Downing Street
Read our statement to the UK Government for a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England.
Read our statement to the Scottish Government for an Older People's Commissioner in Scotland.
What is a Commissioner?
A Commissioner for Older People and Ageing is a role that is independent of government. It raises awareness and works to resolve issues that people face in their later life. This could be around issues getting the right care and support, or financial issues affecting older people in the cost-of-living crisis and beyond.
A Commissioner will be able to amplify the concerns and hopes of the diverse community that exists in later life. We hear from older people who feel like they don’t have a voice in the Government that represents them, particularly those who face hardship or inequality.
A Commissioner would have the power and remit to bring together government departments to put in place solutions that resolve these issues, which would benefit everyone as they age.
Other commissioners across the UK
We want to see a Commissioner working with the UK Government and Scottish Government to amplify the voices of older people in each nation, and to support similar roles in Wales and Northern Ireland. In the Welsh Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly, Older People’s Commissioners work to raise awareness of the issues that older people face, and we’d like to see this happen in other governments in the UK.
A Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in the UK Government could also benefit people in later life across the UK, working to raise awareness of issues that devolved governments cannot resolve on their own. This is because the UK Government has some powers that extend to other nations outside England, such as for some aspects of social security.
We’ll continue to campaign for representatives for people in later life at the highest levels of governments across the UK.
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