Social services failing to tackle isolation and loneliness of a lost generation of pensioners, says CSJ

Adult social services and other Government agencies are failing to tackle an epidemic of isolation and pensioner loneliness, according to a landmark conference organised by the Centre for Social Justice, today Tuesday 15th November.

The think-tank will say that social isolation affects more than a million pensioners in the UK and failure to support this lost generation means more of them will end up in expensive residential care in years to come.

And it calls on councils to establish expert units made up of community leaders, police officers and older people's charities to find and target these pensioners with extra support.

The conference, Vital Connections: Building public and voluntary sector partnerships to tackle social isolation in later life, will call for a national campaign linking councils, charities and government agencies including the police, fire brigade and doctors to share data on the most vulnerable.

Gavin Poole, Executive Director of the CSJ, said: "Longer life expectancy has afforded greater opportunities for millions of older people in Britain. But for others, life is characterised by intense loneliness, social isolation and poverty. Over a million older people are cut off from the community, to the detriment of both their mental and physical health.

"Our report Age of Opportunity, found that many of these isolated old people were already in contact with either the statutory, or voluntary sectors, but that these organisations either weren't able or lacked the ability to share data.

"As a consequence of this failure to share information many older people missed out on vital care and support, greatly increasing their chances of requiring expensive residential social care."

The conference, co-hosted with the Campaign to End Loneliness, will draw together experts from the voluntary sector and adult social services.

Speaking at the conference Peter Hay, the Strategic Director, Adults & Communities at Birmingham City Council, will endorse the calls for the CSJ and Campaign to End Loneliness.

"Tackling social isolation is the most preventative social care policy you can get." Mr Hay will say.

"Isolation has a massive effect on an older person's resilience. We know that. And we also know that resilience is the clinch factor in whether someone will require social care. So the number one priority for social care is connecting the most isolated older people to community.

"What we're dealing with here is a lost generation. The cost of failing to reach these men and women will be huge. The consequences will be devastating: for them, for social care, and for society as a whole."

Laura Ferguson, Director of the Campaign to End Loneliness, stressed that the need to prioritise such local services that can prevent loneliness and therefore reduce further health complications.

"If you live on your own you can become lonely over time and, alarmingly, you are more likely to become ill and need more intensive health and social care support. Loneliness should be better understood and prioritised by all those providing support or contact to people in local areas, including health providers. Reducing loneliness is likely to reduce the vulnerability of older people and further health costs," she said

The conference, supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, will look at ground-breaking community programmes and discuss how to rebuild links between the elderly and their local communities.

Andrew Barnett, Director, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK, said "We are delighted that the Centre for Social Justice and the Campaign to End Loneliness are together furthering the call to develop better links at the local level between statutory providers who often come into contact with the most isolated older people, and charities who are well-equipped and experienced at delivering personalised support."

For media inquiries, please contact Nick Wood of Media Intelligence Partners Ltd on 07889 617003 or 0203 008 8146 or Alistair Thompson on 07970 162225 or 0203 008 8145.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Centre for Social Justice is an independent think tank established, by Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP in 2004, to seek effective solutions to the poverty that blights parts of Britain.

In July 2007 the group published Breakthrough Britain. Ending the Costs of Social Breakdown. The paper presented over 190 policy proposals aimed at ending the growing social divide in Britain.

Subsequent reports have put forward proposals for reform of the police, prisons, social housing, the asylum system and family law. Other reports have dealt with street gangs and early intervention to help families with young children.

The Campaign to End Loneliness aims to maintain and create connections in older age and was launched in 2011 by four founder partners: Age UK Oxfordshire, Counsel and Care, Independent Age and WRVS. It is funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is an international charitable foundation with cultural, educational, social and scientific interests. Based in Lisbon with branches in London and Paris, the Foundation is in a privileged position to support transnational work tackling contemporary issues in Europe. The purpose of the UK Branch in London is to connect and enrich the experiences of individuals, families and communities with a special interest in supporting those who are most disadvantaged. In 2008, the Foundation launched an initiative on ageing and social cohesion. Our support of the Campaign to End Loneliness represents a core development of our work in this area which we hope will contribute to a growing understanding of the impact of demographic ageing to our society.