§ Promoting increased physical activity among older people can lead to substantial savings in health and long-term care costs because of the physical and psychological health benefits it confers

§ Engaging in creative arts programmes, both in the community and in care settings, can lead to improvements in older people’s physical and mental health and may have benefits in terms of social cohesion

§ Psycho-social programmes (like Age & Opportunity’s Ageing with Confidence programme) may also lead to mental and physical benefits to older participants

§  Age & Opportunity’s programmes succeed in providing older people with increased opportunities to participate in physical and cultural activities, and potentially contribute directly to the goals set out by the World Health Organisation and the recommendations of the United Nations in relation to ‘Active Ageing’ and ‘Healthy Ageing’ and to the national goals for health promotion

§ The health and social benefits associated with Age & Opportunity’s physical activity, arts and psycho-social programmes provide a rationale for funding for this work into the future

§ The proposed new National Positive Ageing Strategy should set out policies specifically geared to promote the health, confidence and social inclusion of older people and to maximize their capabilities in the arts, in physical activity and voluntary activity as demonstrated by Age & Opportunity