£1.1m for Welsh local authorities to become age friendly

£1.1 million is being made available by the Welsh Government to local authorities to support their work to become age friendly and ensure older people are involved in the design and planning of local services.

The delivery plan includes actions to raise awareness of older people’s rights, tackle age related poverty, improve public services and spaces and reduce loneliness by promoting volunteering as a way to encourage more people to connect with their communities.

Specific measures include funding improvements to bus infrastructure to ensure more stops and key interchanges are fully accessible to all and support for older people to become digitally confident.

Welsh Deputy Minister for Social Services Julie Morgan said: “We want to create a Wales where everyone looks forward to growing older and age is celebrated. Our Vision is for an age friendly Wales that supports people of all ages to live and age well. Too often getting older is linked to illness and decline and older people’s contributions to society are overlooked. From making sure housing supports people to age well, to creating opportunities to keep healthy and active, this plan outlines how we will work across government and with key partners, including the Older People’s Commissioner, to reject ageism and realise our vision of an age friendly Wales.”