The Minister of State, Department of Health (Norman Lamb)
We have today laid before Parliament “Government Response to the House Of Lords Committee on Public Service and Demographic Change report “Ready for Ageing?” (Cm 8677).
This country faces major demographic and economic challenges as a result of an increasingly ageing population. We welcome the Committee’s report, which shares the Government’s ambition of making this country a great place to grow old in.
We know the challenge is significant. The quality of our later life is an issue which affects us all. Cross-Government co-ordination and focus is crucial to achieving success. We all have responsibility for ensuring we make the most of the extraordinary opportunity of increasing life expectancy. These challenges are for individuals and communities, for local and national Government, for the private sector and the third sector.
This response describes the wide reaching programme of reforms this Government have put in place, as well as the plans we have for further work, which we believe will begin to address the challenges set out in “Ready for Ageing?” The reforms range from changes to pensions, transformation of the health and care system as well as improvements to wider public provision such as housing and transport.
Public provision must continue to adapt and respond as the needs and expectations of the population change. Individuals must take personal responsibility for planning for their later life, making choices and exercising control. This report is not a one off piece of work but an important dialogue between Government and the public, which must and will continue into the next Parliament.
As part of this dialogue, Government have committed to writing to the House of Lords Liaison Committee in a year’s time. This will update on progress of the Government’s reforms as well as provide any new evidence and challenges that might have arisen since the original report was published.