Further Reading
Member News
20th October 2010
Age UK looks at the spending review from the perspective of older people.
Today's comprehensive spending review represents a fair deal for people in later life, with a range of announcements on pensions, social care and universal benefits according. Age UK was relieved to see no cuts to universal benefits paid to older people, from free eye tests to the Winter Fuel Allowance. These benefits make a huge difference to the lives of the millions of older people managing on low incomes, and their protection is very welcome.
The Treasury obviously listened to Age UK's top call for the spending review, "Don't cut care", with care budgets faring far better than expected just a few weeks ago. Overall, we expect that spending on care will fall modestly in real terms over the next four years; but it could have been far worse. Half of the money for care will come from the NHS budget, which we support, as health and social care are inextricably linked. The rest will be a grant for councils that will be earmarked for care services, but not ring-fenced – so it will be down to local campaigners to ensure that councils actually maintain care budgets in each community.
On the NHS, we were pleased to see an acknowledgement that the proposed 20bn pound savings would be reinvested, and that it was important to make these savings to face up to the reality of our ageing population. Funding for dementia research will be welcomed by the thousands of sufferers and their families and friends across the UK.
We saw good news on the Post Office network, a vital lifeline for many older people, particularly those in rural areas. The temporary increase in the level of Cold Weather Payments will become permanent. The government's commitment to roll out superfast broadband should hopefully encourage more older people to go online.
However, it wasn't all good news for older people. The state pension age will now be raised to 66 by 2020 for both men and women, substantially before both what is necessary in current legislation and what the coalition agreement set out after this year's election. Many people at the end of their working lives will be disappointed that this rise is coming six years earlier than expected. This measure will hit the poorest hardest, by shortening the retirements of those people living in areas with lower life expectancy.
There was no detail on whether social care budgets will be ring-fenced, or whether they might be plundered by hard-up councils facing council tax freezes and budget cuts. As Warm Front is phased out, we need to see urgent national and local plans for tackling fuel poverty, particularly among older people. One in five households containing someone over 65 are currently experiencing fuel poverty – that's too many households facing the difficult choice between heating and eating.
The chancellor today called on us all to celebrate and confront the challenges of ageing. Age UK will continue to promote the interests of older people, particularly those who are frailer, more vulnerable or on low incomes, but we broadly welcome the government's commitment to supporting people in later life.
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