Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted
Pensioners face increased health risks and unsustainable care demand without a preventative, whole-system approach
Conclusion
As pensioners are generally on a fixed income, they face challenges responding to cost-of-living increases. Those on low incomes are likely to respond by cutting back on food, energy use and social interactions, adding to existing health risks. Various social and environmental risk factors such as poverty, bereavement and isolation and cold as well as lifestyle factors such as diet contribute to accelerating the ageing process, so-called frailty, reducing healthy life expectancy and the capacity to live independently. From this follows significant increased demand for health and social care services and increasingly grim health outcomes. Without a much greater focus on a whole system approach to prevention, tackling the factors that cause ill-health amongst pensioners, including poverty itself, the Government will not be able to achieve its goal of building a health and social care service that is sustainable for future generations. (Conclusion, Paragraph 41)
Government Response Summary
The government outlines current and planned initiatives to address pensioner poverty and support, including increases to the National Living Wage, the Triple Lock, Automatic Enrolment, Pension Credit, a Social and Affordable Homes Programme, and the Casey Commission on adult social care.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government recognise that pensioner poverty is often the result of compounding disadvantages that start long before retirement which is why state support is provided accordingly. For example, we have increased the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour – boosting the pay of over 3 million workers and provided a new ‘Fair Repayment Rate’ for the poorest households as part of the ongoing UC review, giving 1.2 million households an average £420 per year. Our commitment to increase the State Pension by the Triple Lock is helping today’s pensioners and also providing the pensioners of tomorrow with certainty. The introduction of Automatic Enrolment has both increased and equalised workplace pension participation rates between men and women in the private sector. Together, the new State Pension and Automatic Enrolment provide a robust system for retirement provision in the decades ahead. And Pension Credit continues to provide a vital safety net for those on a low income. We are also creating the conditions to support future pensioners, including labour market interventions – with significant employment support reforms detailed in the Get Britain Working White Paper. And we have revived the Pensions Commission specifically to look at the long-term questions of adequacy and retirement outcomes for future pensioners. Pensioner poverty and health inequalities are interconnected with complex longstanding causes. The NHS has an important part to play in reducing these inequalities which is why the future of NHS and Social care services are a priority for an ageing society. In July the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan, an ambitious long-term vision to transform healthcare for the benefit of all. For older people specifically, the move to Neighbourhood Health Services—providing community-based integrated care—will improve the quality, convenience and timeliness of the care they receive. A new focus on prevention as well as expanding personalised care will be key to enabling people maintain health and independence in later life. On social care, we have already allocated over £600 million to support local government spending in this sector and launched the Casey Commission—an independent inquiry into the future of adult social care—which will report next year on improvements that can be made in the medium-term. The Commission will then considering the long-term transformation of adult social care so that we can deliver a social care system fit for the future – reporting by 2028. The Government also recognises the important role that housing plays, particularly for older people who may spend more time at home. High quality, safe, affordable and sustainable homes can help older people stay independent and well for longer. We have committed to a new £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme with an ambition to deliver 300,000 homes over the 10-year programme which will see the delivery of affordable homes to help lift families, including older people, out of poverty. The role of older people’s housing is also being considered as part of the Long-Term Housing Strategy which will be published later this year.