Government Repsonse to the Economic Affairs Committee Second Report: Preparing for an ageing society

This is the government's response, published 18 February 2026.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government's response sets out existing and planned policies across pensions, employment, health and social care, and does not accept the recommendations for a Cabinet sub-committee on ageing or a standalone ageing strategy.

• On workforce participation, the government "agrees that higher workforce participation, particularly at older ages, can play an important role in supporting growth and improving the old age dependency ratio", and cites employment support funding rising to more than £3.75 billion per year by 2028-29.
• On a Cabinet sub-committee on ageing chaired by the Prime Minister, the response points to a new Growth and Living Standards Committee instead, and says it "considers this integrated approach preferable to a single standalone strategy" on the strategy recommendation.
• On adult social care, the government says it "will respond to both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 reports" of the Casey Commission, reporting in 2026 and by 2028 respectively.
• On extending the Lifelong Learning Entitlement to Levels 1 to 3, the response sets out that it will cover Levels 4 to 6 from January 2027, and says it "will consider the next steps for adult qualifications (19+) in future".

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