Commissioner for Older People

Our society should respect, value, and support our older citizens as they age; ensure all people are treated with dignity in later life; include practical measures practical measures which empower people to live healthier, fulfilling lives, and to protect people from neglect and marginalisation. 

My Liberal Democrat parliamentary colleagues and I have and will continue to press for the establishment of a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing, a dedicated role which ensures that the needs, rights and voices of older people are represented in public policy. This should include measures such as trips and falls assessments for those over 75, and wider access to active ageing programmes, to prevent avoidable hospital admissions and support people to live independently. 

Many older citizens, especially the most marginalised, have borne the brunt of cost-of-living pressures, often worsened by government inaction and neglect. 

We should work to build a society in which all people can look forward to ageing, confident that support will be there when it is needed, and that they will be treated with dignity and respect.