“It’s welcome that the Green Paper recognises action is needed to improve the health of people at all life stages, including a focus on active ageing.
"Reducing the risks of ill health in later life will require further action on smoking and obesity, as well as making homes and workplaces more inclusive and accessible. The recognition that negative attitudes about growing older can affect our health too is welcome and could contribute towards helping everyone to age well.
“But if we are to reach the Government's target of five extra years of healthy and independent living and reducing the gap between the richest and poorest, more radical societal changes are needed.
“As well as upgrading poor quality housing that exacerbates health conditions, we must build every new home to be accessible for people of all ages and abilities. For those people balancing work with managing a health condition, we must do more to support them to remain in work. To make our communities more connected, we must design and deliver affordable and accessible public transport and walkable local environments.”
