Our priorities for Scotland's next First Minister

With a rapidly ageing population, measures that will support older people to live well in later life and make society more age inclusive must play a key role in Humza Yousaf's agenda as our next First Minister.

Only a fifth of older people said they feel valued by society when asked in Age Scotland’s Big Survey two years ago, and more than a third said that older people were made to feel a burden.

A simple and effective step on day one as First Minister would be to maintain the ministerial responsibility for older people and ensure these issues are discussed at cabinet. This would not only demonstrate a serious commitment to improving the lives of the over 50s in Scotland, and progress equality work, but it demonstrates to a growing and substantial group of people that they are valued and a core consideration of their administration.

New figures released this week show a rise in poverty among older people in Scotland. Now, 15% of pensioners and 22% of people aged between 55 and 64 live in relative poverty. That should shock us all and set alarm bells ringing in the First Minister’s office. Despite these figures rising over the last decade, there has been almost no action from the Scottish Government to address this. Now is the time for a national older person’s poverty reduction strategy.

Older people in Scotland face a multitude of other challenges too, such as difficulties accessing healthcare, incredibly high fuel poverty rates, chronic levels of loneliness, a lack of social care availability, discrimination, and social exclusion. There is much to do in order to improve people’s lives.

We want Scotland to be the best place in the world to grow older and hope to see bold action from the new First Minister to help make that a reality.