Clwyd West AM Darren Millar has praised the role of older people in the workplace during a Senedd debate which recognised the contribution to the economy of the silver pound and the many hours of volunteering, caring and childcare which Wales' older people provide every year.
Leading the debate, Darren noted that Wales' older people contribute almost £3million per day to the Welsh economy with the value of caring and volunteering alone estimated at £750 million per year and that far from being a burden on society the growing population of older people in Wales is something that we should all celebrate.
He said:
“Older people contribute to society in many ways, but it is perhaps the value of older people in the workplace that is most often overlooked. Working is good for most people’s physical and mental wellbeing, and the spending power of older workers has been an important spur to the UK's economic recovery.
“But older people’s contribution to society is not simply confined to employment. The work that many older people do is often unpaid and a great help to wider society. Their work as volunteers makes a significant contribution in unpaid hours to the Welsh economy. The Royal Voluntary Service has suggested that older volunteers are providing a staggering annual average of almost 105 hours of informal and 55 hours of formal volunteering effort per person in Wales aged over 65.
“The Older People’s Commissioner has suggested that the value of this contribution, when taken together with their services in terms of childcare for friends and family, can be estimated at around £750 million annually.
“Older people also make important financial contributions to society through a variety of other means, including gifts, donations and bequests to charities, savings for their grandchildren, and the transfer of financial assets to family members. Older people who are carers also provide considerable economic value to Wales. The Office for National Statistics showed that, in 2011, 50 to 64-year-olds were providing the most care, estimated at 41% of the population. In Wales, approximately 14,300 of these people worked full time while providing 50 hours or more of unpaid care per week.
“So far from being a burden on Welsh society, our growing population of older people is something that we should all celebrate. Their contribution to the Welsh economy is growing, and the silver pound is becoming an ever-more important driver for economic growth. We therefore need to do what we can to address discrimination against older people in Wales and to celebrate their contribution to the workplace.”