Excluded older people: Social Exclusion Unit interim report

The experience of older age should be a positive one. But whilst many older people enjoy the chance for more leisure, learning new things, or spending time with friends and family, others experience isolation and exclusion. The consultation highlighted three key ways in which respondents say provision needs to improve if older people are to enjoy a better quality of life: joined up services are key; intervening early is important, and investment in low level prevention can reduce costlier interventions later; and older people generally know what they need and want, and they should be involved in the design and – where practicable – the delivery of services. This report is split into three sections: a summary of the issues and challenges; social issues from crime to housing, from transport to employment; and the specific needs of carers, those from minority ethnic communities, and at the way in which support for excluded older people is funded.