Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement today and for some of the positive initiatives he outlines? I feel reasonably qualified to take part in this debate, and perhaps here I should declare an interest.

Many of the key concerns surrounding older people are identified in their ability to deal with statutory authorities on matters such as financial worries, housing, health, crime and isolation. These needs are a large part of living into old age. We all acknowledge that smoking, diet and exercise correlate directly to deprivation and ill health in later years. This results in some older people finding real restrictions on their ability to look after themselves during old age. Many older people experience problems in daily living because of chronic illnesses or health-related disabilities. We are living longer but not necessarily healthier lives. The decline of the wider family group compared to earlier times is a factor that puts many older people into care homes and away from their communities much earlier than should be the case, thereby increasing their isolation from friends and peers.

It is encouraging to read in today’s statement about the setting up of the acute response team in Prince Philip Hospital, which is designed to keep and treat people at home. This of course begs the question, Cabinet Secretary: how quickly will these be set up in other hospitals?

We again acknowledge that ensuring that older people are not disadvantaged simply by reason of age is one of the greatest challenges of modern times. That challenge is to ensure that all of our older people are able to live fulfilling lives and that they are not seen as a burden but recognised for the contribution they have made throughout their lives to the economy and community as a whole and also to acknowledge that many of them still contribute to society in many ways, often being the backbone of many charities and social activities. It is therefore incumbent on statutory authorities to ensure that their core mainstream services are available to older residents in the same way that they are for other people.

Social care is not just about getting people washed and dressed, but should be aspiring to help people live the fullest of lives and with dignity. Financial arrangements should be put in place as soon as possible, in anticipation of the escalation of costs of providing services going forward. There is a welter of issues building like floodwaters behind a dam. Unless we act decisively to prevent it, that dam will one day burst with devastating consequences, particularly for the elderly.

As we know, Whitehall insists on reducing funding to local authorities, which of course drastically impacts on the services they are able to deliver. We also know that the UK Government insists on increasing our foreign aid budget, even though it is a well-documented fact that huge amounts of this money is wasted by many foreign Government recipients on vanity projects or huge arms arsenals. Surely it is time to halt this misuse of public money and spend it far more wisely closer to home and make the lives of our older people a much better experience than has been the case so far.