NIACE welcomes support for older people Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - 16:40

Speaking in response to today's Queen's Speech, Stephen McNair, Associate Director at NIACE, said:

"We welcome the Government's proposals on care for older people. As life expectancy rises and society ages, it becomes increasingly vital to find ways of enabling people to continue to live healthy, fulfilled and independent lives into late old age."

"Adult education makes a significant contribution to not only the quality of older people's lives but also by helping them stay independent for longer. NIACE is currently working on a project to promote stimulating mental and physical activity in care homes and therefore reduce spending on medication. The price of a week of residential care can easily cover the costs of teaching a widowed husband to cook, which could keep him out of residential care for years. Adult education classes can build bridges between the generations and strengthen informal support."

"The numbers of older people in adult education have fallen dramatically in the last few years and will fall further as spending concentrates on learning for work. We think this approach is far too narrow and short-sighted."