The government should act more quickly to reform social care in order to mitigate negative social and economic impacts of an ageing society, to help older people work for longer if they wish, and save more for retirement, health and local government experts have said.

Frustration over the slow speed of change was a recurring theme in multiple speeches at the International Longevity Centre (ILC) Future of Ageing conference in London.

Speaking at the conference, County Councils Network senior policy advisor, Jonathan Rallings, summed up the feelings of many when he said there had been widespread disappointment in the social care and NHS sectors and among local government organisations about the new government’s decision to launch a new commission on adult social care, which will not deliver a final report until 2028.

“There was a lot of anticipation before the election … and we have been disappointed,” said Rallings. “A ten year plan for health has not been accompanied by a ten year plan for social care.”

He said he was pleased the commission would be led by the highly experienced and respected Baroness Casey, but asked “what is she going to say that’s going to be different from what’s been said over the last ten or 20 years?” – referring to previous reports including the Dilnot Commission, which reported in 2011 and the Wanless Review in 2002.

“We have to make sure our services are shored up now, because the demographic timebomb is continuing to tick,” Rallings warned.

Other speakers provided data and insights linked to the UK’s ageing society and problems older people face in accessing appropriate housing and public services.

Royal Society for Public Health chief executive, William Roberts, who has worked in hospital and community services, also urged faster action on reforming the funding and delivery of social care.

But he also called for a drive to change prevailing cultural attitudes to old age.

The positive effects of these policy and cultural changes, he suggested, would include some older people being able to work for longer, rather than having to stop work to care for an ailing spouse or partner, so helping them to save more for retirement.

Along with a number of other speakers at the conference, Roberts suggested that more effective policies to help support older people to live and work as they wanted would release multiple social and economic benefits.

“We’ve got to stop talking about long lives being a problem,” he said. “Ill health is a problem – and it’s a much worse problem if you’re poor.”

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