Scotland makes history with Older People’s Assembly

Over 300 delegates from older people’s organisations poured into the Scottish Parliament at the bottom of The Royal Mile in Edinburgh on Friday 2nd October. This was the first Older People’s Assembly in Scotland of this size, and is certainly more than England, Wales and Northern Ireland have produced. There are a range of forums, panels, committees and local assemblies across the UK, but nothing on this scale or with this potential.

A few years ago the obsession was with younger people’s parliaments. Thank goodness the reality of an ageing society has at last sunk home.

For me it was a great pleasure both to be able to speak about the work PRIME could deliver to help the Scottish Government create a wealthier and fairer Scotland, and to actually enjoy being in the ten-year-old Scottish Parliament building.

Like many first assemblies in the past, the sub-texts of this very successful meeting were about the legitimate areas of discussion, the format that any future meetings of this kind should take to be most effective, and what the extent and limits of the Assembly’s power might be.

At this stage the proceedings of the Assembly will form a report which will go to, amongst others, the Members of the Scottish Parliament. But there then has to be a deliberation about the next steps.

Younger people’s assemblies are a chance for the young to learn political skills, but older people’s assemblies may well offer a chance for older people to apply the political skills they have learnt over a lifetime. I was certainly urging the Assembly to demand a proper programme of enterprise support activities for older people in Scotland.

If society continues to be so youth obsessed, will older people take their political revenge through older people’s assemblies? It will be interesting to watch, but even better to participate.
Further reading:
Report on event from Age Concern and Help the Aged in Scotland

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