Comment on Coalition's Programme for Government

We welcome the new Government's pledge to establish a commission on long-term care reform and its commitment to report within one year. Although Scotland's social care system is entirely devolved to the Scottish Parliament, what happens in England and Wales has an impact on Scotland. Scotland's social care system is also not perfect and it makes sense to look at what happens south of the border to see if there are lessons we can learn. For example, the commission into the long-term care of older people will examine the different options for paying for care in later life, some of which could potentially be useful in addressing the same issue in Scotland.

The coalition Government's pledges to restore the state pension/earnings link, phase out forced retirement, auto-enrol people into pensions and extend flexible working are all welcome policies.  But on the day the government announced 1.8 million older people in the UK remain in poverty, it's disappointing the coalition makes no reference to reducing poverty or making energy affordable for people with low income. We hope to see further progress on these key issues for older people in the next few months.