Falkirk councillors urge First Minister to restore named minister for older people

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Falkirk councillors are backing a campaign urging First Minister Humza Yousaf to restore a named minister for older people. A motion taken to Falkirk Council by Labour councillor Alf Kelly on Wednesday was supported by the SNP group as well as Conservatives and Independents.

Councillor Kelly, who is the Older People's champion for Falkirk Council, is backing a campaign led by the charity Age Scotland, which has criticised the First Minister for replacing the role of minister for equalities and older people with an expanded portfolio that includes equalities, migration and refugees. Read more: Falkirk councillors back campaign they hope will change the lives of care experienced people In his motion, Councillor Kelly said: "Whilst we totally support the importance of migrants and refugees, we should not be downgrading the importance of older people in our community by removing the role of a named minister."He told the meeting: "We now have a minister for the 25,000 migrants and refugees in Scotland - but not a minister for the two million-plus people over the age of 50 in Scotland."He quoted figures that the 67,000 people over the age of 50 in Falkirk now make up 41 per cent of the population.The numbers of older people are growing fast, with over 65s in Falkirk increasing by 38.7 per cent between 2001 and 2021.Between 2018 and 2028, the number of over-75s in Falkirk is projected to increase by 29 per cent.Cllr Kelly urged all councillors to support the motion, saying: "Our older population is growing and facing greater challenges than ever before."In his speech, he also pointed out that in 2021, the unemployment rate for Falkirk's over-50s was 42.9 per cent and said he feared that would lead to a rise in pensioner