Age Scotland launches 2012 local election manifesto

Today Age Scotland launched Making a difference, the Charity's manifesto for the local government elections on 3 May.  The manifesto calls on candidates to challenge the trend of cash strapped councils seeking savings at the expense of older people's services.
David Manion, Age Scotland Chief Executive, said: "The challenge for councils is not to manage the cuts by simply imposing more charging, reducing capacity and withdrawing services. Instead, they must use these financial pressures as a catalyst to examine how they can improve theservices they deliver."
The manifesto also calls measures to tackle older people's isolation, with 58,000 people aged over 50 in Scotland, equivalent to the population of Inverness, never seeing family, friends or neighbours.  These include investment in demand responsive community transport and action to make public spaces ‘age friendly.'  On housing, Age Scotland is asking local authorities to contribute towards the provision of suitable housing options for older people and to complement the Scottish Governments' Universal Home Insulation Scheme with their own strategies to tackle fuel poverty.
Download the manifesto
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