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Age Concern's Director General Gordon Lishman‚ said:

“Darling has dealt an ace card on the critical issue of care but a poor hand to many of the most disadvantaged pensioners who will see nothing new to help them.”

On social care
“Age Concern England welcomes the Government’s commitment to address the growing crisis in social care. We are delighted the Government has listened to Age Concern and others - recognising the need for public consultation on this issue followed by a Green Paper.

“Increasing investment by £190 million to £1.5 billion by 2010-11 will allow the current system to creak on in the short term. The national roll-out of the trial Partnership for Older People’s Projects will help many older people stay independent for longer.

“Fundamental reform and significant further investment over the next decade is clearly required but this is a vital first step in the right direction.”

On Inheritance Tax
“Changes to Inheritance Tax (IHT) will be welcomed by those who have considerable assets to pass on to their heirs but will not affect the majority of older people. The average level of assets for the over 60s is well below the current threshold of £300‚000‚ with around a third of older people not even in the position to own their own home1.”

On pensions and Pension Credit
“It’s good news that the Pension Credit will continue to rise in line with earnings and really promising that the Government has announced a Public Service Agreement (PSA) target around tackling poverty. But it is extremely disappointing that the Government has yet again failed to bring forward the date for re-linking the state pension to earnings. Without quick intervention‚ the real value of the basic state pension will continue to fall and today’s pensioners will fail to benefit from any of the good measures proposed in the Pensions Bill.”

On Council Tax
“Many pensioners will be very disappointed that there was no announcement on additional help with their council tax bills. The reassurance that local authorities will keep council tax rises to below 5% next year will be of little comfort to pensioners struggling to live on stingy state pension linked to inflation. The Government should replace Council Tax with a fairer system linked to people’s ability to pay‚ and for it to deliver a higher Basic State Pension so pensioners can afford to pay their bills.”

On financial inclusion
“The modest increase in the Financial Inclusion Fund is welcome but the challenge now is to ensure that financial inclusion initiatives reach all those affected‚ including older people.”

On fuel bills
“The absence of any announcement to help with the cost of energy bills will be a huge disappointment to many older people‚ who are more likely than any other age group to be affected by fuel poverty. Pensioners‚ particularly those living on a low‚ fixed income‚ often bear the brunt of high energy costs. In the short term‚ the Government should increase the Winter Fuel Payment by at least £100 to help older people pay their bills. But it must also ensure that decent housing‚ energy efficiency measures and a higher basic state pension are in place to help older people stay warm.”

On the National Health Service
“More investment into the NHS is obviously extremely welcome but must be targeted carefully to achieve real benefits for patients. Despite a big cash injection in recent years‚ older people’s services have seen none of the new investment that has gone to younger adults. More funding for footcare as a preventative service would make a huge difference to hundreds of thousands of older people‚ as would further investment into mental health services for older people which have been appallingly neglected. Increased funding should be used to start to move the NHS to a service that promotes good health‚ rather than just treats illness.”

- Ends -

Notes to editors
1 Around 3 out of 10 older people are not homeowners so have not benefited from rises in property prices. In 2005 the average level of assets (property and other savings) held by 60 to 69 year olds was £201000‚ and for those 75 and over the average was just under £140‚000 - well below the IHT threshold. Source: Asset Accumulation across the life-course‚ National Centre for Social Research on behalf of the International Longevity Centre‚ 2007.

IHT thresholds:
2005-06 £275‚000
2006-07 £285‚000
2007-08 £300‚000