All-Party Parliamentary Group for Longevity and Future Care Capital

I am delighted that my organisation, Future Care Capital, is partnering with Longevity International CIC, the secretariat of the newly established All-Party Parliamentary Group – or APPG – for Longevity. We think that putting health-span into your lifespan is forward thinking.

Our population is ageing, and the impact is being felt across local communities. So, this is one of the key health and care issues – and opportunities – of our time. The growing intergenerational divide between older, ‘sandwich’ and younger generations has also been reported widely in recent times and this prompts a further need for debate and a call to action.

Here at FCC, we are focused on collaborating with others to move the conversation forward about the positives of longevity and delivering tangible action. This cross-party approach of the APPG is important because we need business, government and society to work together on this, as part of a collaborative ecosystem, developing consensus.

The APPG has been established at a critical time with a plan to address the scientific, technological and socio-economic issues relating to our ageing demographic. According to the Office for National Statistics, there are 10 million people in the UK today who will live to be 100. One in four people are projected to be aged 65 and over by 2037. What is refreshing about this APPG, is its emphasis on the benefits of longevity with the aim to enable healthier, more productive and purposeful lives.

The APPG has elected senior and respected Parliamentarians to act as its officers. These include The Right Honourable Damian Green MP, The Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice, The Right Honourable Norman Lamb MP and Lord Filkin CBE, who is Chairman of the Public Service and Demographic Change Committee in the House of Lords. Through the leadership of the APPG and the Strategic Advisory Board of leading industry experts, FCC is supporting the development of a National Strategy for Healthy Longevity. The development of this strategy is an important opportunity to drive home a positive narrative and a bold vision to engage the business community, convince policymakers and convert hearts and minds in the wider public about maximising the health and wealth of our nation.

Over the course of the next year, we will be supporting the APPG’s aims and objectives. The group will hold evidence sessions to consider, for example, pension and financial services innovation, policy development on data, and the wider science and genomic agenda. In particular, we have a keen interest in how technology can transform health and social care outcomes. We welcome the fact that the APPG will explore the potential for data, new and emergent technologies to transform the way in which we care for ourselves and one another in the years to come. In parallel with this work, my organisation is beginning to build a wide conversation about the future of health and care provision. This includes collective stewardship of wellbeing in our homes and communities as well as informal health and care settings.

There is a need for society to adapt to a world of the 100-year lifespan. Policymakers should think seriously about the implications of longevity and the impact it will have on everyday life. Healthy longevity offers real opportunities alongside the challenges. The 100-year lifespan is set to change how we live, in potentially exciting ways – provided the government prepares for it. Only by stimulating dialogue between industry, academia and the public and private sector can we encourage the government to translate the ambitions of a nation’s healthy longevity into tangible results.