To ask the Minister of Health (i) what consideration is being given to how the demography in Northern Ireland will change in the next 20 years, in particular the age of our population; and (ii) how an ageing population will impact services across all health and social care settings.

It is widely recognised that Northern Ireland has a growing and ageing population, and with this comes the increased risk of people living with multiple conditions. This adds to the complexity of needs that our services must manage and places additional demands and pressures on the system.

Consequently, there is a fundamental need to change the way we work if we are to address these demands and pressures.

The development of the Integrated Care System NI will support us in doing this, enabling collaborative working across the HSC sector and beyond, placing a focus on people keeping well in the first instance, providing timely, co-ordinated care when they are not, and supporting people to self-care when appropriate.

This approach will help support us to ensure that we are maximizing the resource we have available to deliver the best outcomes for our population.