6. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: Age Friendly Wales: Our strategy for an Ageing Society

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:51 pm on 30 November 2021.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 4:51, 30 November 2021

Perhaps I should declare an interest as an older person. But I have every intention to grow old disgracefully, because I do not think that I want to be in my bath chair any time soon.

I think that the role played by older people during the pandemic has been absolutely huge. Just imagine, most of the carers—I appreciate there are young carers, and they do a valuable job too, but most carers are older people looking after their loved ones, whether they've got dementia or whether they've got young adults with learning difficulties. These are people who, during the pandemic, have just had to do it all on their own, and so we absolutely have to salute them for the work they've done without any respite. We need to ensure that, as people live longer, they also need to live healthier lives, because it's pretty miserable to live with multiple health conditions. You know, some people just say, 'I just can't take any more of this'. I was just reflecting on how many of the things that we're doing, for example, to tackle the climate emergency, which is all about saving the world for future generations. Nevertheless, it's also making life better for older people as well. So, when we're—