Baroness Thornton (Lab)

My Lords, earlier this week, I was pondering on which aspect of this most impressive report on ageing I might usefully make a small contribution. As a relatively new chair of the SCIE—the Social Care Institute for Excellence—it seemed important to make the links between the new enthusiasm from our new Prime Minister for the reform of social care and this debate. The reform of social care is a much wider issue than just social care, because it deals with young people, disabled people, those with learning and mental health challenges and so on. The interface between health and social care is undoubtedly a facet of this debate. However, lo and behold, the BBC—bless it—and its radio programme “Radical” gave me an answer, featuring, as it did, Professor Sarah Harper, professor of gerontology at Oxford. She was a witness and contributor to the considerations of this report. Like my noble friend Lord Reid and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry, she challenged the widespread belief that ageing populations are primarily a social and economic burden, arguing instead that longer lives represent one of humanity’s greatest achievements and an opportunity to rethink how society is organised. As the report does, she explains why many of the pressures associated with ageing societies stem from institutions designed for a different era—it is obvious. She argued that our welfare systems, labour markets and expectations around retirement no longer reflect the realities of modern life, where people are often living longer and healthier lives—more so than previous generations. That is a note of optimism, and that is what we need to inject into the debate. In fact, many of the contributions did exactly that. The Government need to grasp this, run with it and bring forward a much bigger strategy, and this needs to be done in the face of optimism for our society and its future. Look around this House, and look at the age profile that we have here. We are an excellent example and, of course, we are greatly privileged. There is no doubt about that, and I greatly support it. I think about my noble friend Lord Dubs at 93. He is still here, leading great things in this House. We need to see this as an opportunity to build a richer society that takes into account the things in the report to do with the economy, health and social care, and the changes that are necessary. In particular, it is about the culture and how we regard older people and the value we place on them. I look at this report as the start of an optimistic debate, which I hope will lead to greater things.