One in three older people in London live in poverty

More than a third of the capital’s older people are living
in poverty, according to figures released by London Mayor Ken
Livingstone, writes Sally Gillen.

Speaking at the first meeting of London’s ‘Older People’s
Assembly’, Livingstone said: “Pensioner poverty shames our society,
and it exists in inner London on a scale that has never been
previously recognised.”

John Belcher, chief executive of Anchor Trust, urged older
people to unite and assert their collective political power in
order to gain more control over their lives.

“Services for older people are not providing the independence
and control older people want,” Belcher said. “There are still too
many care homes with paternalistic regimes and depressing
environments.”

Examples of new services that were built around the needs of the
older person could be found around the country, but there was still
a long way to go and many local authorities and health authorities
were still failing to work in partnership, he added.