Councils and health trusts in many areas are already struggling to meet the demands placed on them with the funding they receive. The coming decades will see those demands increase sharply while the number of people of working age to meet the associated cost shrinks.

The Government's pledge to restore the link between the state pension and earnings along with other reforms should ensure that the financial security of older people improves
over time.

But, however successful those changes are, there is no doubt that in future more people will need to work for longer to make ends meet. That is already reflected in planned increases in the state pension age but this will be irrelevant if the jobs market does not begin to value the skills of older people.

Purpose-built retirement villages such as Plaxton Court, in Scarborough, offer the hope of a more pleasant lifestyle than that endured by many older people. However, this type of laudable project should not be seen as a convenient alternative to making facilities accessible to the elderly in the wider community.

It is also important to recognise that the answers do not always involve spending extra money. A change of mindset whereby the needs of pensioners are given greater consideration in the way services are planned would pay dividends. A good starting point would be taking action now to halt the haemorrhaging of local services, such as post offices, that is forcing older people to travel further
from their homes or rely on others.

There are no easy solutions to the challenges posed by the county's ageing population but sensible decisions taken now will ease the pressure in future years. The country will pay a heavy price unless politicians from all parties start to take a lead.