Charity says older people need to be included more

Older people feel life is getting worse and that they are not valued by society.

Research by Age Scotland reveals that two thirds of people over the age of 50 don’t feel valued by society, up from 51% in 2021 to 66%, and more than half (56%) felt life in Scotland was getting worse for older people, up from 34% in 2021.

The findings come as part of the charity’s annual Big Survey.

Age Scotland says the findings should act as a wake-up call for politicians and is calling on MSPs and the government to give much more attention to older people’s issues.

The research surveyed more than 4,100 over 50s covering every local authority area in Scotland and the research paints a worrying picture of the way older people feel they are regarded and portrayed in 2023.
Only 8% feel satisfied that decision makers and politicians treat older people’s issues with due consideration. Nearly six in 10 (56%) were not satisfied.

Just 3% felt that it was easy to have their voice heard by decision makers with most respondents (56%) feeling it was not easy.

Katherine Crawford, Age Scotland’s interim chief executive, said: “Our research paints a grim picture of how older people in Scotland feel regarded in 2023, and at times made very tough reading.

“We undertook this work to get a snapshot of how older people feel about their lives and growing older in Scotland and it’s extremely disappointing that our research has shown a significant majority of them do not feel valued by society, represented in the media, or listened to by politicians or decision makers.

“A worrying trend we noticed since we conducted our survey in 2021 is a really negative downturn in how older people feel about life in Scotland right now.

“Older people have contributed in countless ways throughout their lives and continue to do so, yet far too many of them are spending their later years feeling unvalued and unheard.

“At a time when Scotland’s population is ageing and facing a growing number of serious challenges, it has been beyond disappointing that the Scottish Government stopped having a named minister for older people earlier this year.

“This is one of the many reasons why we have been campaigning for a commissioner for older people to act as an independent advocate to champion their voices and help to change how they feel.

“We hope our research is a wake-up call for politicians and decision makers to strengthen older people's voices and ensure they are considered in decisions made right across government.”
The full report of The Big Survey will be published in mid-September.