§ 2. Ms Claire Ward (Watford)If he will make a statement on the progress of the better government for older people project. [86780]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Peter Kilfoyle)The annual report of the better government for older people programme was published on Monday. It showed how older people themselves are actively engaged in the design and delivery of the public services that they use and rely on. This is a key part of the modernising public services initiative.
The programme has also set up an on-line learning network to disseminate good practice and discussion and provide advice and guidance.
§ Ms WardI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Is he aware that Watford is one of the pilot projects and that there has been much success in setting up new services for older people and consulting them about what services they would like? Will he provide information to the House on how we can ensure that those projects and the benefits from them are available in the longer term to many more older people?
§ Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst)That is a tricky one.
§ Mr. KilfoyleIt is certainly not tricky for my side of the House. I will answer directly. I am happy to congratulate my hon. Friend on the excellent project in Watford. There are 27 other pilot schemes around the country. I stress that they are pilot schemes. They have been running for one year, and one of the objectives is that they will roll out after two years. We are looking at ways of finding seed funding to ensure that we can extend the good lessons that have been learned from the projects to other areas. We are looking at ways in which lessons on good practice can be disseminated. I am happy to report to the House that, on the basis of the first annual report of the programme, I have every expectation that there will be widespread take-up of the lessons learned.
§ Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)If the hon. Gentleman wants better government for older people, why did he make no representations whatever to the Treasury against the abolition of tax credits on dividends, given the peculiarly damaging effect that it had on thousands upon thousands of relatively low-income elderly investors the length and breadth of the United Kingdom?
§ Mr. KilfoyleThe Government recognise that older people come from different points. That is what underpinned the pensions review. The appointment of a royal commission to examine the funding for long-term care for the elderly is another way in which we are approaching the wider needs of older people.
The remit of my Department involves looking at how we can improve the public services which impact on the lives of older people. We have set that out in our four 1154 principles. We are improving the delivery of services and actively engaging the experience of older people. We are celebrating the fact that older people are an important part of our society, and we are piloting new forms of partnership with the private sector, local authorities and voluntary organisations.