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9.0 Conclusion - The Next 20 Years
This final chapter summarises how we plan to proceed to ensure that our shared vision for the future progressively becomes a reality.
A Scotland where people are living longer is to be welcomed. An active, involved older population has a huge contribution to make, which will benefit older people themselves through increased wellbeing and prosperity and will benefit Scotland.
There was a huge response to our public consultation. This sent clear messages which support our intention to make a radical change in how we think about ageing and respond to its challenges and opportunities. This Strategy responds to those messages by setting out where we are, where we aspire to be as a country, and some of the key steps we can take to begin the journey.
In considering the issues of an ageing population in Scotland, we have examined the evidence gathered from research and consultation, and set out a number of challenges for everyone in Scotland which must be met for the vision to be achieved. We expect all sectors to consider the implications of this Strategy and of the ageing population, and to make a positive response which will enable the contribution and involvement of all people in an older Scotland. We recommend that this response is developed through a strong consultative approach, using best practice to involve older people.
We therefore ask all Scottish local authorities to explore the potential of an ageing population within their local communities. We invite them to consider the further development of local strategies for positively engaging with their ageing populations to benefit local democracies and to make best use of the skills and experience of older people in local areas. We will work with CoSLA to assist local authorities in this task.
In addition to the immediate actions identified elsewhere in the Strategy, we will ask our Enterprise Agencies and networks in Scotland as a priority to examine the incentives and support needed to grow the "silver economy" in Scotland and actively promote the development of new products aimed at older people. At the same time we will seek their advice on what can be done now to ensure that older entrepreneurs are actively encouraged to invest in business in Scotland.
We welcome the report of the Scottish Parliament Futures Forum "Growing Older and Wiser Together: A Futures View on Positive Ageing" setting out its view on positive ageing. We share its view that ageing represents a positive opportunity for Scotland and that we must start now to prepare for the changes ahead.
The Futures Forum has offered a number of suggestions including the establishment of "…a National Ageing Forum to monitor the development and implementation of ageing strategies across Scottish society". One of the main conclusions reached following our consultation is that there should be a forum or partnership body to help drive forward the implementation of the Strategy. The Parliament Futures Forum corroborates those findings.
We intend to set up a National Forum on Ageing which will provide authoritative advice, whose members will act as champions in their own sectors and fulfil these functions.
Intergenerational work has the potential to deliver real outcomes in changing individuals' circumstances and improving their life chances. We believe that better links between the generations are at the heart of a successful Strategy. In addition we want to explore what action can be taken immediately to encourage older people to become involved in intergenerational work. We see the establishment of a Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice as described in Chapter 4 as an important way in which this exciting agenda can be taken forward.
As this first wave of action goes forward it will be accompanied by wider action. There will be a continuing need for hard thinking within the public, private and voluntary sectors about the implications of an ageing population, both the possibilities it offers and the challenges it poses. This includes thinking about how resources are allocated, and whether historic patterns and assumptions are still appropriate for the years to come. The Scottish Executive will be taking some of this forward in the forthcoming Spending Review. Scottish Executive spend on people over the age of 60 is currently estimated at over £5.1 billion. Local government will also wish to consider these issues in a strategic and systematic way and we will work with them to ensure that the guidance and evidence needed for this task is in place.
Individuals need to act too. We know from the evidence that many people do not plan ahead. This happens for a whole range of reasons. But many people want to be able to continue living independently. We can therefore help ourselves by planning for our financial future and taking care of our health.
The challenges of long-term future planning are significant and will stretch our traditional focus on single objectives delivered within the short to medium-term. The necessity of integrating and co-ordinating policy and action presents a challenge to our traditional approaches and requires us to re-think historic and professional boundaries that have defined policy and delivery in the past.
As the first step in building our knowledge base, this document has focused, quite rightly, on the issues of ageing and older people. We will continue and broaden the dialogue to understand and connect the issues of an ageing population for all Scots and to build a coherent strategic approach that will deliver our aspirations for Scotland as a prosperous and successful nation with an older population.
This Strategy has been underpinned by the close involvement of older people themselves as well as by an understanding of the challenges and opportunities we are likely to face over the next 20 years. This is an excellent start on our journey together into the future.
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