Older People: Their Place and Contribution in Society

Lord Dholakia Excerpts

Friday 14th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Dholakia]

My Lords, I thank the most reverend Primate for this debate. We from this side of the House wish him a happy and active retirement. Prominent persons are often remembered for their failures but in this case history will judge him as a kind, caring and compassionate individual.

I wish to bring a different strand to this particular debate, about the contribution and place of black and ethnic minority elders in our society. We now know more about the aging process of our population and that a large number of older people need assistance of one form or another. Earlier this week, the Office for National Statistics released its second report on the analysis of the 2011 census. We know that 16% of the population in England and Wales are 65 or over and that the population is predominantly white at 86%, while Asians make up 6.8% compared to 4.4% in 2001, black people 3.4% compared to 2.2% in 2001, Chinese people 0.7% compared to 0.4% in 2001 and so on.

We also know that we are living much longer. In short, our society is diverse in age and in ethnicity. A substantial number of the migrants who came here in the early 1950s and 1960s were of the economically active age group and the women were of child-bearing age. We took little note that large-scale economic migration in such a short time span would result in a substantial increase in the number of older people in years to come. That time is almost now. They have contributed to the British economy and now, in old age, many are involved in care and caring.

My contribution is built on my involvement and experience of initiatives during the past 30 years, for instance in ethnic minority elder housing and, for more than a decade, my position as the vice-chair of a specialist international charitable institute in ageing and ethnicity called PRIAE, the Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity. I prefer to illustrate elders’ contribution through highlighting our society’s black and minority ethnic elders, whose numbers are many and their endeavours even greater. First and foremost, many recognise that migrants have particular attributes, as the process of migration is in itself challenging.

The migrants of yesterday are the minorities of today, and they have offered Britain much even as they have endured difficult experiences. They have worked productive lives, built their homes, raised their families successfully and entered old age. Being enterprising is something that we value in our society; minorities show this enterprising zeal in a great many ways. Many individuals in their earlier adult life will have pioneered initiatives in education, rights, housing, business and more, which we benefit from today and which strengthen our society. Many individuals in their old age continue to lead initiatives that provide information, support and care to older members of minority and majority communities.

PRIAE, the Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity, began in 1998 with zero-based funding. The objective was to produce clear, focused studies with targeted developments to stimulate and increase the rate of progress in the area of ageing and ethnicity, thereby contributing to an improved quality of life for all black and minority ethnic elders. At the onset, this is what we observed. On access to services, they felt the barrier of, “It’s the hush-hush system, you know. Don’t know, don’t hear, don’t get”. On paying for care, elders felt unequal treatment, saying, “In paying taxes, I’m treated as English; in getting services, I’m treated as an immigrant”. In producing research and consultation, elders felt inaction, saying, “We have had too much discussion, action is overdue”.

Let me cite a few examples. In health, we found that BME elders experience higher levels of poor health and limiting long-term illness, after allowing for income differences. Although there are variations in the prevalence of certain conditions within BME elder groups, as a whole, they show very high levels of stroke and heart disease, diabetes, renal disease and an earlier onset of disability and prostate cancer compared to the indigenous community.

Too often, the subject of ethnic elders in health and social care is shrouded in the limited terms of culture, language and faith. Although these factors are important to all of us, they are not sufficient, as the findings of the widest research in the area of care and services across Europe show that minority ethnic elders experience a range of health conditions, service and professional barriers, and remain largely invisible in care policy and practice agendas.

The reason is that health and social care services are underused due to a range of factors, including lack of knowledge, language difficulties, income and inappropriateness of services. However, when they are accessed and used, minority ethnic elders show clarity in their expectations, proving that services must be quality-based and not just culturally appropriate.

This is an important finding, as for far too long, the issue of ageing among minorities has been limited to a focus on cultural and linguistic adjustments. Do BME elders simply put their feet up as they approach old age? Is it true that they are concerned only with care issues? In 1999, we produced a film called “Playing our Part after 50”, launched at BAFTA. This film captures five elders’ work in the community, who inform us otherwise—and they are not exceptions.

Although some BME groups have higher home occupancy than white groups, they tend to occupy poorer stocks of housing. BME groups in social housing and shared accommodation live in the most deprived areas and, in London, Bangladeshis and black Caribbeans, in particular, live in the most deprived wards. BME elders today are less likely to live in multi-generational households, accentuating the pressure on appropriate sheltered and residential care, which is already in short supply.

The institute, which is chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Ouseley, has done considerable work in this area to support elders as well as planners and developers to provide appropriate housing solutions. In the process, debates about separate housing have been presented through successful working multicultural models of housing in the UK and the Netherlands.

Minority and voluntary organisations from various ethnic backgrounds have long supplied various supporting services, such as home care, day care, lunch clubs, social support—and housing, in a few cases. In this sense, they are acting as primary providers of specialist care, rather than complementing mainstream services. What prevents their growth is finance and infrastructure. Collaboration with the mainstream is often problematic.

BME organisations are characterised by their poor and short-term funding, inadequate infrastructure and inability to develop much, due to the size and scale of their operation. We have long argued with funders and policymakers for due recognition to be given to the critical work that they undertake. An impact has been made but often the pace of change is too slow to meet the unmet needs. BME elders and organisations have been pioneers, change agents and major contributors to the care and welfare of elders. We say thank you to them all.

I have been a witness as well as an active participant in seeing how we can grow the focus on the area of ageing and ethnicity. Because of our endeavours where working with BME elders was normal, and then through their focus and investment, the area is richer in knowledge and development.

Let me conclude. The austerity measures have not helped this well run policy-orientated organisation, which has done so much to assist our ageing population. Let us hope that the next decade benefits from much of the work that has been pioneered. I have deliberately identified issues affecting minorities, because that gives me a further opportunity to pay tribute to the most reverend Primate for his contribution to faith and community relations, which has helped to strengthen our diverse, multicultural society.