Written evidence submitted by The Local Government Association (LGA) [ROP0034]

1. About the Local Government Association (LGA)

• The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national voice of local government. We are a politically led, cross-party membership organisation, representing councils from England and Wales.

• Our role is to support, promote and improve local government, and raise national awareness of the work of councils. We aim to influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils, so they are able to deliver local solutions to national problems.[1]

2. Digital exclusion

2.1         What steps are required to prevent older people from being digitally excluded; and in what areas is digital exclusion of older people a particular concern?

• Digital exclusion intersects with wider inequalities in society. The recent House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee report into digital exclusion found a lack of digital skills and access to a reliable internet connection can severely impact on people’s lives, leading to lower health outcomes, increased loneliness and social isolation, and worsened access to jobs and education.

• Older people are disproportionately more likely to be digitally excluded, which present additional barriers to accessing the services and support they need to live well. In 2023, Ofcom figures showed only 69 per cent of people aged 65 and above use the internet at home compared with 96 per cent of 25 to 34 year olds. In addition, with depression affecting around 22 per cent of men and 28 per cent of women aged 65 years and over, inequalities in mental health can also act as a further barrier for older people to access services and digital technology.
   
• Rural areas face specific challenges with digital exclusion. Recent analysis by DMS Consulting for the LGA found that a significant gap remains between rural and urban areas in terms of gigabit coverage. In September 2022, gigabit coverage was at 47 per cent in predominantly rural areas, versus 79 per cent in predominantly urban areas. Rural areas have an older than average population, who are more likely to be digitally excluded and have difficulties accessing services due to poor transport links and longer travel distances.

• Recent LGA research by Pragmatix found without support to improve digital skills, older members of rural and coastal communities risk further exclusion from services and society. The challenges faced by older groups are more likely to be compounded if they are also disabled or on low incomes. Research by Public Health England exploring health inequalities in older population in coastal and rural areas highlighted the need to encourage social connections particularly for those in marginalised groups.
   
• The LGA specifically commissioned DMS Consulting to explore the links between various types of disadvantage and the availability and usage of digital infrastructure, and to consider the role of councils in tackling digital exclusion. The report identified a series of recommendations for central government outlined below which, if implemented, would support local authorities to continue to work to prevent older people from being digitally excluded.

• First, digital exclusion is currently an issue that spans several Government departments, and it is not clear who, if anyone, at ministerial and senior officer level has responsibility for coordinating the UK Government’s approach. Clarifying this leadership would be helpful in ensuring that the resources applied to digital inclusion efforts are used as effectively and efficiently as possible.

• Second, the current UK Digital Inclusion Strategy dates from 2014 and for this reason does not usefully shape current approaches by local councils to addressing digital inclusion. This needs to be updated in partnership with local government as a matter of urgency.

• Third, councils are well placed to help tackle digital exclusion and are keen to play a major role in doing so but severe funding pressures make it difficult to protect non-statutory activities. Central government support is required to ensure that local digital inclusion initiatives are continued and enhanced to continue to support older people from being digitally excluded. We are calling for a local digital champion in every local area to act as a central point of contact and to help extend gigabit-capable broadband and mobile coverage across the country as quickly as possible. Given the right funding and opportunity to work in partnership with Government and providers, councils can play a far greater role targeting communities most in need, driving up demand and providing digital upskilling.

• Fourth, departments with an active interest in improving digital inclusion include DSIT, DHSC, DfE, DWP, DLUHC and BEIS. Developing more explicit and effective mechanisms for coordinating departments’ efforts in these areas would help to reduce duplication and improve the synergies between activities (for example ensuring that initiatives around improving access to devices and/or connectivity are complemented with help on digital skills).

3. Championing older people’s rights

3.1         Are older people’s rights sufficiently protected in equality law (including with reference to justifiable direct age discrimination and age-related exemptions for financial services)?

• No evidence to share.

3.2         Are older people’s needs and rights given adequate consideration in Government policy-making? If not, what steps should be taken and what relevant national and international examples of best practice exist?

• No evidence to share.

4. Intersectionality

4.1         How does “intersectionality”, for example sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity and disability status alongside age, impact older people and require distinct policy responses?

• The public health agenda aims to improve the health of our population to enable more years spent in good health. To achieve this, we need to help reduce health inequalities across different age and social groups and invest more carefully to ensure that we have appropriate wellness services.

• Growing numbers of older people are living with debilitating conditions and comorbidities, and the consequent use of local services can result in negative perceptions of older people as a ‘drain’ on the system.

• A future ‘blighted’ by millions living in poor health is seen as a major challenge for individuals, families and communities that we must address now, before it is too late. This perception is unfair and unhelpful. We know that the majority of older people live independent, productive lives and are critical to the success of our society. For example, grandparents provide up to 40 per cent of childcare, enabling their children and family to pursue their careers without restriction from prohibitive childcare costs.
   
• Older people are as diverse a group of people as any other section of the population, and there are significant differences in terms of characteristics, living arrangements, experiences and health outcomes. Over the next two decades, the older population is also likely to become increasingly diverse as the cohorts of people who have migrated to the UK since the 1960s enter retirement. It is estimated that by 2051 in England and Wales, there will be 3.8 million Black and minority ethnic (BME) older people aged 65 and over and 2.8 million aged 70 and over. There are noticeable inequalities for older people from BME communities.

• BME older people are likely to have lower levels of income than white people and this financial background is likely to have a big impact on the decisions that older people from BME communities make about their transition into retirement.

• There is a higher incidence of ill health amongst minority ethnic communities. BME groups generally have worse health than the overall population, although some BME groups fare much worse than others. Evidence suggests that the poorer socio-economic position of BME groups is the main factor driving ethnic health inequalities. 

• As society ages there will be a greater number of older lesbian, gay and bisexual people. There are a number of important factors about this population that local and national government will need to take account of in their planning. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people over 55 are more likely to be single, more likely to live alone, less likely to have children and less likely to be in regular touch with their family. Getting older can therefore be much more complex for lesbian, gay and bisexual people as they are more likely to face the prospect of ageing alone or without as much personal support as their heterosexual counterparts. As a result, many lesbian, gay and bisexual people over 55 experience an increased sense of vulnerability and are more anxious about ageing.

• Local authorities can play a significant part in addressing and reducing health inequalities, although the role of central government and the rest of the public sector and voluntary and private sectors are also vital. A place-based approach is necessary.

• One of the most significant contributions local government can make to tackle these wider determinants and to reducing health inequalities is to take a ‘Health in All Policies’ (HiAP) approach to all of its core functions and to its place-based partnerships. HiAP is an approach to policies that systematically and explicitly considers the health implications of the decisions we make; targets the key social determinants of health; looks for synergies between health and other core objectives and the work we do with partners; and tries to avoid causing harm with the aim of improving the health of the population and reducing inequity.

• People’s life chances and their likelihood of living a long and healthy life are determined in their very early years but are affected at all stages throughout their life. Therefore, it is important to take a ‘life course’ approach to reducing health inequalities, influencing for the better the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.

• The unequal distribution of the social determinants of health, such as education, housing and employment, drives inequalities in physical and mental health, reduces an individual’s ability to prevent sickness, or to take action and access treatment when ill health occurs. These inequalities are complex and embedded in society, but they are also preventable. Factors such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and disability can lead to further disparities if systems and approaches do not recognise different personal needs and culture.

• Reducing the gap in health inequalities and addressing disparities is crucial to improve the long-term health of our nation. The LGA were supportive of a separate health disparities strategy that would have identified key factors – including age. We believe that the decision by the Government to embed consideration of health disparities into the Major Conditions Strategy, rather than have a separate strategy, has removed the momentum behind the health inequalities agenda. History shows us that focusing on medical conditions means activity gravitates towards diagnosis and treatment within the NHS, and away from prevention and early intervention addressing the wider determinants of health. It is vital to act now and drive forward work programmes that reduce inequalities, prevent poor health and improve people’s opportunities for better health.

• Local government is aware of the circumstances of so many of their residents and is focussing on reducing these inequalities, working with the wider health system to enable recovery from the pandemic and to build sustainable and healthier futures. Understanding of health inequalities has increased across all organisations, particularly following the pandemic, which provides a good opportunity for partnership work. Measures include health improvement interventions targeted at particular groups and communities; asset-based community development or neighbourhood working; and levelling up interventions around developing skills and promoting employment.

• Also, important to understand is that other policy areas, such as housing, impact on equality of older people. Councils are well placed to exercise local leadership and take a greater strategic approach to enhance the housing and lifestyle choices for people in later life. Integrated action in the fields of housing and planning can align with some of the most important policy areas currently challenging national and local government – how to reform and integrate the NHS, social care and public health in the context of population ageing, and how to increase housing supply delivery and build more resilient and healthy neighbourhoods.

• Given the scale of demographic change and the centrality of this growing older population to many aspects of housing, health and care policy, there is an opportunity for the Government to set out to comprehensively address the housing needs of an ageing population for England, through working with and supporting councils and other stakeholders.

5. Stereotyping and discrimination

5.1         How prevalent is ageist stereotyping and discrimination; what forms does it take; in what areas is it most common; what its impact is on older people; and how can it best be challenged?

• No evidence to share.

6. Labour market access

6.1         What more needs to be done to support older people who want to stay in work longer?

• There is strong evidence that, in general, work is good for health and long-term unemployment is consistently associated with poor health outcomes. Ill health among working-age people costs the economy around £100 billion a year. It can also affect people’s participation in the labour market, with over 300,000 people annually, falling out of work and onto health-related welfare. Once people fall out of work due to long-term sickness, they are very unlikely to move back into employment – becoming economically inactive.

• Improving work and health outcomes for everyone across the country requires effective action by local and national government. Action must be tailored to local needs and involve partners across the health and welfare systems and wider industry. Local councils play a key role in this as major employers, leaders of local economic development and as commissioners and providers of services.

• It is clear the current system has much room for improvement, so local government leaders are always seeking to find innovative ways of improving the design and delivery of skills and employment support in their local area. Whether supporting people or employers, councils and combined authorities are striving to do the best they can to level up opportunity across the country.
   
• Ensuring older people have access to training and jobs is essential. Understanding inequalities and barriers that some groups face when accessing skills or employment is key. For instance, older people may find it more difficult to travel, either through car ownership or public transport, and this may be a hurdle to finding employment as well as make it challenging to access health treatments and preventative programmes. Older people may also not be as tech savvy and therefore not be able to look at jobs involving remote working, limiting their job opportunities.

• Local areas will have their own inequalities based on protected groups (such as disability, ethnicity, age and sex), socio-economic status, rural isolation, veterans and any other inequalities that may exist in a community. Local interventions target provision more effectively as it has a greater understanding to the nuances in local inequalities.

• Local councils, as employers, can take actions to ensure that the health and wellbeing of their workforces is looked after, regardless of the size of their organisation or the sector in which it lies. These actions range from ensuring workplace health is prioritised by senior members of staff, to encouraging healthy behaviours in the workplace such as taking regular breaks, eating well and physical activity. Older people are more likely to have longer term medical conditions and therefore require greater flexibility for time off for medical appointments, for example.

• Greater Manchester Combined Authority together with the Centre for Ageing Better ran a project in which people aged 50+ identified key ingredients for good employment support. This included help uncovering transferable skills to improve confidence in moving into new industries; empathy for circumstances and a holistic view of the person’s life, not just their qualifications; support from people who understand their needs, industry and aspirations; education and training information in one place; a mix of local online and face-to-face training; and the ability to try a job before applying, to see if it is suitable for both employee and employer.

November 2023

6