'Chancellor's statement a non-event' says Charity

Age Scotland has responded to Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement.  Charity spokesman Callum Chomczuk said: "This statement is a non-event, as far as improving the lot of our older citizens goes.
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"It does nothing to address the increasing care needs of older people, the escalating costs of keeping warm in winter, the need to encourage people to live healthier, more active lives so that they don't become a burden on the state in later life, and to start financially preparing now for older age. 
"We welcome the fact that the state pension is to go up by 2.5 per cent under the government's triple lock guarantee, which offers the best rate based on that figure compared with increases in the Consumer Price Index or the average wage during the month of September.
"Furthermore, it is reassuring that the National Health Service budget has been protected from the cuts falling on other areas of UK government spending, and will in all likelihood be protected in Scotland too through Barnett Consequentials.
"However unless funding for social care is urgently addressed, then the knock on costs to the NHS will continue to grow, with pressure increasing on hospitals because of a lack of community and social care services for older people, who are left to struggle to cope without the vital support they need.
"The proposal to cut the lifetime and annual tax relief allowances is only likely to affect people on higher incomes or those on middle incomes with particularly generous pensions - we firmly believe there need to be fairer tax incentives to encourage people on modest incomes to save for a pension, so we would like to see some of the savings made from reducing the annual and lifetime allowances being used to encourage  people on lower incomes to save.
"It is very disappointing that the Chancellor hasn't used these changes as more of an opportunity to take a broader look at how to reward people for saving in a pension and better provide for their later life."