Media centre

Gordon Lishman‚ Director General of Age Concern‚ said:

“We are delighted to have generated such an interesting debate today between the generations. The Chancellor listened and engaged in discussions about the future of the family.

“Hearing the opinions of ordinary people‚ not politicians‚ has given us tremendous insight into the issues that UK citizens feel are of greatest importance to family life: caring and the family‚ learning & education‚ work & the workplace‚ neighbourhoods & communities‚ and family finances.

“It proves that people have a lot more in common than is sometimes supposed. Today shows that all of us‚ of all ages‚ are concerned about the world we are building for our future and have a clear view about what should be the priorities for the Government.”

Comments from a participant:

Andrew‚ age 26‚ works as a sales assistant while finishing his last year of university. He said: “There have been a lot of good comparisons made between the lives of younger‚ middle aged and older people. We all want the same things‚ it just gets lost in translation. Younger people do care about older people and they care about us.” 

NOTES TO EDITORS

A report will be available on the findings of the day on request.

Pictures are available from the event. Please contact Helen Wanless in the ACE Media Unit on 020 8765 7514 or Jonty Alone on 020 8765 7516.

Age Concern’s Building Stronger Families forum‚ was held today‚ Monday 15 January‚ by Age Concern. At the event The Chancellor‚ Rt Hon Gordon Brown‚ MP listened to members of the public talk about the challenges facing families in the UK. The discussion was future-focused‚ with participants looking at the implications of demographic and social trends on family relationships and needs.  Importantly‚ it was also solution-focused with people actively developing ideas on how needs of families can be met.

For general enquiries please contact us.

Journalists contact:

Media Team
Helen Wanless/Jonty Along
Telephone:
020 8765 7514/16
Out of hours:
07071 243 243

Email:
Media Team