"We need a Minister for Older People"

By Iain Harrison and Kirsten Mann
writing in The Sunday Post

ALEX Salmond is coming under pressure to appoint a minister for older people. Campaign group Grandparents Apart wants the Scottish Government to follow Ireland, Canada and New Zealand’s lead and create a dedicated champion for the over-60s. Founder Jimmy Deuchars has lodged a petition at Holyrood to set the wheels in motion for the appointment.

MSPs have agreed to debate the idea later this month.

Under the proposals, the minister would have responsibility for issues including fuel poverty, care home charges and home help provision. They would also be expected to hold cabinet secretaries to account and ensure the needs of pensioners are represented. The calls for a dedicated minister for older people come after research showed the elderly feel society treats them badly.

Grandfather-of-six Jimmy, 67, said: “Older people are treated like dirt in this country. “Thousands are separated from their grandchildren and have no rights. Others are frightened to go out after dark. “Many more feel lonely and isolated and as though they’ve been thrown on the scrapheap.” He added: “Despite making up 40% of the electorate there is no minister dedicated to their wellbeing. “This needs to change.

“We need someone devoted to looking after older people’s welfare.” The Scottish Government already has a minister for children and a commissioner for children and young people.

But Deputy First Minister and Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon, who has the biggest portfolio of any cabinet member, is responsible for the elderly. Jimmy claims she’s too busy dealing with political issues to prioritise pensioners. He complained: “Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t even answer my letters and her boss, Alex Salmond, doesn’t appear interested in families.

“I’ve had countless replies from MSPs about the plight of grandparents who have approached our group for help but none were satisfactory. “It seems to me that older people are forgotten when it comes to making important national decisions.

“This causes distress, despair and depression.” Several countries already boast a minister for older people, while a commissioner is in place in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Labour’s Jackie Baillie, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, believes an old people’s tsar is needed in Scotland but stopped short of calling for a dedicated minister.

She said: “Older people and their relatives can feel powerless and confused in navigating our care systems and when things go wrong they feel nothing is done. “As our population ages, Scotland’s older people need someone on their side. But it should be someone independent of Government.”

Pensioners’ charity Age Scotland was similarly reticent. A spokeswoman said: “Nicola Sturgeon currently has older people as part of her ministerial remit, so arguably there is already a route for older people’s issues to be raised right at the heart of Government.

“Although a separate minister for older people might send a positive signal, we would need to see strong evidence of the value that this could bring and would have concerns that it might relocate responsibility for older people at a more junior ministerial level.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government responded: “Protecting the rights of older people is a key priority.

“We’ve brought down household bills by freezing the council tax, abolished prescription charges and protected key services including free personal care, eye tests and concessionary travel.

“We would be happy to meet Mr Deuchars to discuss our joint commitment to helping older people.”

We look at the main issues that would face a minister for older people

PENSIONS

Lack of income is unquestionably one of the biggest causes for concern. Britain’s state pension is one of the least generous in the developed world and many private funds have huge deficits.

While a minister for older people in Scotland would have no power over pensions, it is hoped they would take on a campaigning role.

FUEL POVERTY

Fuel poverty is on the rise, affecting 55% of single pensioners and 45% of couples. To make matters worse winter fuel payments — governed by Westminster — were reduced last year.

The Scottish Government does have a package designed to assist those in fuel poverty but critics claim it’s not enough. The minister would be expected to lobby cabinet to extend it and apply pressure to energy firms to lower prices.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Good health care allows people to stay in their home longer, while good home care allows people to stay out of hospital. The minister could look at creating an integrated health and social care system which would stop people being shunted between services.

SOCIAL ISOLATION

Many elderly people rely on befriending services and community transport to allow valuable interaction with the communities in which they live. Some services have been withdrawn and it is feared looming cuts will worsen the situation. A dedicated minister could help ensure local authorities have enough money, as well as an obligation, to make these services accessible to all.

GRANDPARENTS’ RIGHTS

IN Scotland, grandparents can apply for access to their grandchildren without permission from the courts first, but there is no automatic right.

The rights of their children’s children are set out in the Charter for Grandchildren. There are calls for these guidelines to be made legally binding.

FUNERAL COSTS

Soaring numbers of hard-up pensioners are being buried in paupers’ graves. Across Britain around 21,000 die every year without the money for funeral bills and with no relatives willing or able to pay. In some cases they are interred along with strangers in communal graves containing up to five bodies.

Campaigners believe this is one of the issues a minister for older people could address.

The situation south of the border -There is no dedicated minister for pensioners at Westminster. However, in October, Labour leader Ed Miliband appointed a shadow minister for care and older people.

The following month broadcaster Esther Rantzen handed in a 137,000-signature petition to Downing Street, calling for the role to be created at the heart of the Westminster government.

The petition won support from Scots actor Richard Wilson, actress Linda Robson and broadcasters Tony Robinson and Angela Rippon and more than 80 MPs signed an Early-Day Motion backing the proposal.

So what did people on the street make of the calls for a minister for older people?

Retired secretary Dorothy McLennan (78), from Edinburgh said: “It would be good if there was someone in the Government who would deal specifically with issues affecting older people. The main one for me is waiting lists and waiting times in hospitals and GP surgeries. A lot of elderly folk don’t have relatives to take them and end up sitting in waiting rooms for a long time on their own.”

Elise Theurer (67), from Edinburgh, is a church elder and part-time retail assistant. She says: “In general terms I think it would be a good idea, though obviously how much good they would do would depend on which party was in power.

“I think society is failing older people and that’s because people have a total lack of respect for each other. This would certainly help give is a voice. It’s not easy to live off a pension when rent goes up all the time and council tax has to be paid.”

Richard Forsyth (64), a retired IT consultant who directs Shakespeare plays Traquair House in the Scottish Borders, says: “In principle, as an older person, I think it’s a good idea. There are many issues which they could look at. The bus pass is highly useful, but one thinks it is likely to be taken away soon.

“And living on a fixed income at a time when inflation is about to take off is difficult. As you get older you want to keep warm and the costs of gas and electricity continue to increase.”“

Allan Donnelly (65), a retired Army Cadet executive officer from Dundee, says: “I would say when it comes to the needs of elderly people something is sadly lacking, especially given all the recent revelations about their care in homes and hospitals. There is certainly a need for a spokesperson - a champion for older people’s rights.”

Allan’s wife Patricia (63), a retired café owner, adds: “We took both our mothers in to our own home, but whether or not our children will do that I don’t know. It is no longer in our culture to look after our elders, so what happens to us? It’s a worry.”