Preparing for an ageing society
This report forms the conclusion of Ipsos's evaluation of the Ageing Well programme. The programme was designed to provide sector-led support to assist local authorities in England to meet the challenges associated with an ageing population. The programme was delivered by the Local Government Association (LGA) – previously Local Government Improvement and Development, and before that the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) – and was funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It ran from July 2010 to March 2012.
LGA and DWP commissioned Ipsos to carry out an ongoing evaluation of the programme in May 2010. The evaluation was designed to:
- assess the progress local authorities have made to date in preparing for an ageing society;
- assess the experience of areas that have benefited from the support made available through the Ageing Well programme; and
- gauge how the programme has contributed to improved outcomes particularly in relation to local authorities and older people.
This was achieved by drawing on data collected through a number of channels, including:
- three online surveys with lead officers from upper and single tier local authorities in England;
- two qualitative research phases of interviews and observation with a selection of case study authority areas; and
- analysis of secondary data collected as part of the programme activity by the LGA.
Specifically, this evaluation was designed to assess the programme’s performance against its four key areas of delivery; namely promoting effective leadership, encouraging both a strategic approach to the agenda and engagement with, and the involvement of, older people themselves, as well as joined-up or co-ordinated commissioning and delivery of services for older people.
The full report provides more detailed insight into how well prepared local authorities are for dealing with ageing populations, the strategic approaches they are adopting to deal with the challenges they face, and the role of local leadership and engagement with older people and partners.
