Fit for Purpose! Celebrating Longer, HealthierLife and Getting ‘Engaged’:

or a look at a 5 year old strategy

Jill Manthorpe

Jill.manthorpe@kcl.ac.uk

London focus• Lower proportions of older

people than the rest of England

• Slower growth of numbers of older people: some parts have declining numbers

• One in three older Londoners live alone

• Fewer are in residential care, more get home support

• More in work• Growing ethnic diversity (12%

to 23% by 2021)• Inner London core: poorer,

worse health, more alone• Differences eg mortality: men

72-78 range, women 78-83.

Accounting for London differences

• Outward migration especially of older couples, and when people need care

• Inward migration of younger people

• High cost of living and of housing

• Excellence with scarcity e.g. of primary care health services

Making London an Age Friendly City

• London Older People’s Assembly

• London Better Government for Older people Network/ London Councils

• London Older People’s Strategy Group (200 groups in coalition)

• Greater London Forum• Role of Mayor of London• And here we are !

Valuing Older People: the Mayor of London’s Older People’s Strategy 2006Key points• Not just seeing older

people as a problem• Not just seeing ageing as

an issue for health and social services

• Setting up partnerships with government & commercial & community sectors

• Responsibilities for older people set out

• (all before the recession)

Mayor’s strategy (2)

Enabling older people to benefit from e-government & information technology (IT)

• By promoting access to IT, eg in older people’s centres

• Providing training• Making information easier

to get & understand• Using IT for enjoyable

purposes eg culture and leisure

Mayor’s Strategy (3)

Housing and homelessness

• London high housing costs – how to use capital with less risk, development of Housing Equity Release schemes

• Renovating and renewing sheltered housing that is not fit for purpose

• Lifetime home standard

• Preparing for climate change

Key messages

• ‘happy and proud’ : one views about living in London. There are many advantages and, like anywhere, it is home.

• Becoming an Age Friendly City requires greater partnership working – not just across policy makers & professionals but with older people.

• Did the Strategy make a difference?

Did the Strategy make a difference?

• On the ‘agenda’• Reminder of the ‘grey’

vote• Multi-faceted• Potential for new

alliances?• Reminder to ‘Mind the

Gap’• Holding to account