AQO 3937/22-27 Oral question to the First Minister and deputy First Minister
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline how the Executive is measuring progress in improving outcomes for older people through the Programme for Government 2024-2027.
Asked by Claire Sugden MLA on 10 September 2026
- Answered
- Oral
- Answered in the Chamber
- Tabled
- 10 September 2026
- Answer due by
- 21 September 2026
- Answered
- 21 September 202611 days after tabling
- Department
- The Executive Office
- Priority question
- No
Answer
Answered in the Assembly Chamber on 21 September 2026. Extract from the Official Report (Hansard), including any supplementary questions:
Ms O'Neill
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will ask junior Minister Reilly to answer the question.
Ms Reilly (Junior Minister, The Executive Office)
Through the current Programme for Government (PFG), we are committed to improving outcomes for everyone in our society, and that includes older people. The progress is measured in two ways. First, we monitor the delivery of the Programme for Government commitments, including those that are particularly relevant to older people. The publication of the PFG annual reports has shown the tangible progress that we are making on a range of commitments, including reducing health waiting times, tackling fuel poverty and providing housing-related support to enable people to live independently in their communities. Secondly, the well-being framework, which was published alongside the PFG, provides a broader assessment of the outcomes across society over time.
Many of the framework's indicators can be analysed by age, thus helping us understand the experiences of older people, identify areas where inequalities exist and assess whether outcomes are improving over time. We are committed to supporting people at every stage of their life, and we continue to engage with key stakeholders, including the Commissioner for Older People, to understand the key challenges that remain.
We recognise the considerable work that the Member undertook to develop and introduce the Age Discrimination (Goods, Facilities and Services) Bill and the importance of the issues that the Bill seeks to address. We also recognise that the Member is continually a champion for older people. I congratulate her on that work and look forward to the Bill's Second Stage. For our part, we will continue not only to track the delivery of our Programme for Government commitments but to assess whether long-term well-being outcomes are improving for people across our society, including older people.
Mr Speaker
We now move on to topical questions.