25 Jun 2019
Ageing Better welcomes moves to breakdown barriers for older and disabled people
The Government has announced measures to help people with disabilities to get on in the workplace and live well at home.
Catherine Foot says concrete action is needed to make sure people in later life and those who are disabled are not disabled by their workplace or the built environment.
Catherine Foot, Director of Evidence at the Centre for Ageing Better, said:
“Older people and those with a disability are at a serious disadvantage in our housing market and in the workplace. Just 7% of homes meet basic accessibility criteria and many people face ageism at work. So this new cross-government team is very welcome.
“Delivering enough accessible homes and future proofing our housing stock will mean changing regulations so local authority planners and private developers are required to build homes everyone can live in.
“To support older and disabled people to be in good quality work for as long as they want, we need to make flexible working the default for every job, improve education and training opportunities for older workers, and do more to help employees with a health condition.
“Now is the time for action. Very few affordable and accessible houses are being built each year, and many older workers aren’t properly supported to manage a health condition at work.”