The Mayor’s progress on making London a better place to grow old in

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is passionate about making London the greatest city in the world to grow old in. We’re taking important steps to ensure London is a place where everyone, no matter their age, feels loved and wanted and is proud to call home. 

That’s why in 2023, the Mayor published his Age-Friendly Action Plan - a bold strategy developed with older Londoners to ensure that our city works for them. While there is further to go, I am proud of the progress we have made so far to change older Londoners’ lives for the better. Our upcoming report illustrates these achievements and sets out how we will continue to work for older Londoners.

Ensuring London is an age-friendly city can only be achieved through collective effort. We’re thrilled that more London boroughs are committing to making our capital a better place for older residents by becoming members of the age-friendly communities' network in the UK and across the world.

During my recent visit to Brent, I heard from the Council, residents and organisations about the fantastic community leadership and partnership work that is driving the Age-Friendly Brent campaign. Brent’s membership of the Network brings the number of London boroughs achieving age-friendly status to eleven.

I also had the opportunity to visit Elders Voice in Brent where I learned more about how they support older Londoners, from their Day Centre, which offers things like yoga, dance, and pet therapy to their Handyperson services. It was wonderful to hear from residents about the positive impact these activities and services have on their lives.

I welcomed the chance to update residents and partners on the steps we’ve taken so far in the areas that matter most to them. From improving accessibility in our streets and public transport, to providing affordable housing and tools to improve digital skills, the Mayor has taken steps to support the needs of older Londoners and improve their quality of life in our city.

Public Transport

Making London’s streets safer and more accessible is key to ensuring older residents can move around independently. To support this, we’ve taken steps to reduce potential barriers including, removing street clutter, installing new pedestrian crossings, ensuring hire bikes are returned to designated parking bays and carrying out remedial work at bus stops with cycle bypasses. We also know that public transport plays an important part in being able to get around in the city, which is why we’ve kept free travel for older Londoners.

Housing

As the needs of older Londoners evolve, so does the importance of more specialist, accessible, and adaptable housing. In 2024-25, the number of homes completed through the Mayor’s Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund increased by 80% over the previous year. This means more purpose-built homes that meet their needs, allow them to receive the right support, and live independently.

Pension Credit

Across October 2023-24 our campaigns helped older Londoners living on low incomes access over £9m of Pension Credit that was previously unclaimed. As living costs rise, this vital support can help with bills, and keep homes warm with heating and insulation improvements.

Digital Skills

With society becoming increasingly digital, having the skills needed to navigate services and opportunities online is essential. Each year, over 64,000 older Londoners have taken up our free courses to get jobs, upskill or support with a career change. Many have also accessed our free Essential Digital Skills training and our Digital Inclusion Service for Londoners, which offer useful tools to get online and keep in touch with loved ones.

We are proud of the progress we’ve made and acknowledge there is more we must do to fully realise our plan.

Over the next few years, the Mayor has committed to:

• Deliver more homes that meet the need of older Londoners and make the public realm more accessible
• Provide more learning opportunities through our Adult Skills Fund, Get Online London and community-based Digital Inclusion Hubs
• Continue our Pension Credit campaign and deliver energy efficiency improvements through our Warmer Homes London programme
• Invest £3 million per year for the remainder of this Mayoral term to improve and increase public toilets on our transport network.

Becoming a truly age-friendly city requires shared responsibility and collective effort. We will continue to work with Government, London boroughs, businesses, civil society and older residents to ensure we make London the greatest city in the world to grow old in.

Find out more here.

Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard