6. What progress has been made in delivering the aims of the Welsh Government's Strategy for Older People in Wales? OAQ54355

I thank the Member for that question. Successive strategies, since 2003, have challenged traditional stereotypes of older people and promoted a culture in which we value and celebrate the contribution of older citizens to all aspects of Welsh life.

Thank you very much for that reply, First Minister. Your strategy for older people recognises that opportunities for older people to enjoy and participate in their community rely on access to transport. It clearly states that one of its strategic outcomes is to enable older people to access affordable and appropriate transport, which assists them to play a full part in family, social and community life. Do you accept, First Minister, that your proposal to raise the age of eligibility for a free bus pass is in direct conflict with the aims of your strategy for older people? And will you accede to the request of the Older People's Commissioner for Wales and reconsider this proposal, please?

Well, I don't think that is a fair characterisation of what has been suggested and which is still being discussed and debated. Any person who holds a concessionary bus pass, should the law be changed, would not lose their entitlement to that pass in any circumstances. We have to think at least about the way in which things around us are changing, including the changes that have been made to eligibility for free bus travel across our border by the Member's own Government. When free bus passes were introduced in 2002, then the state pensionable age for women and men was 60 for women and 65 for men. That has changed over time. The pensionable age next year will rise to 66. What we are doing is making sure that this part of what the Welsh Government offers keeps pace with other changes in older people's lives, and it's a conversation we are keen to continue to have with the older person's commissioner and others who represent older people in Wales.