Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181258 on Ageing, what assessment his Department have made of the adequacy of cross-government preparedness for an increase in the older population.

The UK’s changing demographic profile, of which our ageing population is a part, is a significant long-term challenge facing the UK.

Work to protect our older population is cross-cutting and stretches across the whole of Government. Individual departments take responsibility for the delivery of relevant policies in their jurisdiction. For example, policies that relate to the physical and mental health of older generations are delivered through the Department of Health and Social Care. In the Cabinet Office, the Equalities Hub leads on the Equality Act 2010 which provides strong protection from age discrimination across a variety of settings.

I also refer the Hon lady to PQ HL8000, which discusses the work occurring across the government, and my response to PQ 181258 that refers to the ‘The Future of an Ageing Population’ report from 2016.