I’ve always been fascinated by reading and by books – yet they need not necessarily be one and the same. For at a very early age of life the idea of libraries intrigued me so much so that before I even went to school I had taken over part of the hall cupboard in my family tenement and together with my twin brother we had started to arrange and catalogue a few books in the house – we had created the Macaskill Library – less interested in what the books contained but more interested in them as physical objects of story and attraction.

As I got older, I began to develop an interest in the words inside the books, and part of that was confirmed when along with my classmates I was taken along the road to become one of the first members of the junior section of the newly opened Hillhead Library on Byers Road in Glasgow. I had never been in a building quite like it – modern, designed and technological and yet at the same time an oasis for somebody who wanted to learn and to gain knowledge.

Over the years my initial fascination with libraries has deepened and I’ve had the pleasure of visiting some of the most amazing libraries in the world, from the Vatican to the New York Public Library on 5^th Avenue, to the Bodleian in Oxford and of course the beautiful National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.

I find myself thinking about libraries and their meaning today because it is Book Lovers Day. And as I reflect I cannot but think of one of the libraries which has left a significant mark upon me and that is the Public Library in Kirkwall, Orkney where I spent many a day over 30 years ago exploring the shelves, sitting quietly reading and chatting to some of the regulars.

One of the folks I met there was called John who was well into his eighties when I met him and yet virtually every day he came to the library. It was in truth partly because of the social aspect of seeing familiar faces and friends; it also meant that he managed to get a bit of warmth in the day, but it was more than that and when I got to know him a little bit I asked him why he came every day. Immediately his response was because “I want to read something new every day until I cannot read anymore. I used to think that reading was for the bairns, but I now know that reading is for all ages.”

What a truth there is in that statement and yet I cannot but reflect on the fact that the ability ot exercise such an aspiration these days is affected by the closure of so many public spaces for reading – our libraries – which sadly are amongst the first public services to be reduced or cut in times of austerity – there are a fewer and fewer places for all people, of all ages to simply sit and read and to enjoy the experience.

Libraries in Scotland have long been engines of community, learning, and social mobility. Yet as I said above, we are losing them at a terrible rate with recent reports showing closures – 42 since 2014 – and cuts to staffing and funding across rural and urban areas, raising alarm among authors and older age advocates.

This is I think is more than disappointing because in many senses we’ve lost an understanding of just how significant reading is for individual and community health and well-being.

I don’t think it was by accident that Scots were famous for the requirement that every child should be able to read and write and that reading had been central to our cultural and national character. Parish schools, universities and public lending libraries like one of Scotland’s first- the Kirkwall Library, established in 1683 – ensured that books became a public resource for growth and learning.

This tradition continues: cultural engagement research in Scotland shows that people aged 75+ are more likely to read than younger groups – underlining that reading remains a valued practice well into older age.

Insights from Scotland’s contemporary wellbeing research emphasise reading’s role in mental and emotional health. A Scottish Book Trust/University of Edinburgh project found that reading fiction in older adulthood evokes hope, nostalgia, humour and identity – helping build meaning and emotional connection. Reading for pleasure also promotes empathy, resilience, and psychological health across the lifespan.

Intergenerational schemes like Scotland Reads unite school pupils and older adult volunteers in reading and story‑sharing. These projects strengthen confidence, literacy, empathy and social networks in both generations – with older volunteers especially reporting increased self‑esteem, new friendships, and purpose through engagement.

Reading is not merely a pastime – in later life it becomes a profound lifeline. Our response to the challenges of ageing and cognitive decline are rightly sophisticated and technological these days but also have to acknowledge and recognise that the simple art of reading has huge benefits to individuals of any age.

Indeed a 14-year Taiwanese study found that older adults who read weekly had about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to infrequent readers – across all education levels. Reading strengthens memory and a US study has shown that engaged leisure reading can improve older adults’ memory skills, laying a foundation for longer-term mental resilience.

The truth of John’s statement to me in Kirkwall is that we keep ourselves healthy by remaining curious and by stretching our imaginations and few things enable us to do that better than by reading books – and as one study in the Times showed a couple of months ago – that while general curiosity declines with age, specific curiosity – such as learning through reading – actually increases after midlife, with benefits for brain health and well-being. You really can teach an old dog new tricks!

We have of course to recognise that there are very genuine barriers which prevent older people from keeping reading alive in their lives or even starting to read for the first time. One of those is the loss of public spaces for people to come together and what that means for the loss of social learning and exchange, but there are also practical issues which older readers face – but none of them cannot be addressed or dealt with.

Age-related eye changes – macular degeneration, contrast sensitivity and fatigue – make fine print and small font difficult so why are we printing less Large-Print books? While digital devices could help, many older adults feel anxious or lack confidence in using them; insufficient support leaves them preferring print – even if e-books might help access. We could improve lighting and produce more audiobooks and age sensitive podcasts which could all help overcome visual barriers and fatigue, making reading more accessible.

Even more critical and often ignored is the real prospect of developing geragogic learning and digital training. Older‑adult focused design education (geragogy) invites learners to set their own curriculum, with practical relevance and peer learning. Tailored support from digital educators helps older folks overcome technophobia with patience and practice.

On this August 9 – Book Lovers Day – let us affirm that reading in older age is far from a fading echo of youth. It’s a living presence: sparking curiosity, protecting memory, anchoring community, and offering lifespans richer in heart and mind.

Let us consider care facilities developing partnerships with public authorities or charities or businesses to have a small mini library open not to residents alone but to the wider community, including children and young people, not least in remote and rural parts of the country.

The challenges are real – vision, lack of location with the loss of libraries, technology, logistics – but the rewards, when older people are supported, are profound.

Reading isn’t a luxury – it is a potent companion for those years when wisdom and imagination can still flourish. As the poet W. B.Yeats, said in “When You Are Old”:

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

So let us to take down the book in the later years – to read slowly, to remember, to dream – and in doing so, to live again the fullness of a life shaped by love and letters.

Donald Macaskill

Not for the first time and I suspect not the last – I found myself standing in an airport bookshop a few weeks ago – looking at the array of books to entice the traveller to summer reading. I was struck as I always have been by just how many books there are out there on leadership and management – indeed it is a theme I have spoken and written about a fair deal in the past. This year, however, one word seemed to be commonplace both on the covers and inside some of these books and that is ‘courage’ or ‘courageous’. Everywhere I looked there seemed to be work on courageous leadership. It started me off on a spell of reflection and consideration as to what if anything such concepts might mean for or speak to social care in Scotland at this time.

One online definition from Google – much changed by Ai this past week- told me that:

‘Courageous leadership is a concept in leadership thought that emphasises the moral and ethical bravery required to lead with integrity, especially in the face of risk, uncertainty, or opposition. The main aspects include, moral courage, authenticity, resilience, an empowerment of others and long-term vision over short-term gain:’

Not much to disagree with there and indeed concepts of courage in leadership are age old even if books on the theme only started to appear with volume in the 1990s onwards.

But what does the recent resurgence of the idea of ‘courageous leadership’ have to say to social care and Scotland today?

We are certainly living in days of fragility and uncertainty. Every other day I get an email from someone either working in or providing services which raises concerns about the state of the sector and a sense of despair that no-one seems to be doing anything about it, except talking.

Indeed this past week I got an email from colleagues at Alzheimer Scotland which highlighted that their own ‘Stop the Cuts’ online campaign and petition had reached 10,000 signatories – a campaign which I would commend to you and which is seeking to draw attention to the withdrawal of critical support and care from thousands of individuals across the country – all of it happening out of sight and out of mind – as a result of savage cuts to budgets.

And yet in these days of intense uncertainty, when so much feels fragile, it is easy to lose ourselves in the immediacy of crisis and miss the deeper task that lies before us. That task, in Scotland today, is I believe first and foremost to ensure that older people are not only cared for, but valued, cherished, and enabled to flourish. Achieving this will demand not just competence, not just vision, but courageous leadership – in our politics, in our social care, and in the communities where older people live their lives.

Brené Brown, in one of the better recent books on courage in leadership, Dare to Lead, reminds us that:

“The courage to be vulnerable is not about winning or losing, it’s about the courage to show up when you can’t predict or control the outcome.”

That, I would argue, is precisely the challenge facing leaders in Scotland today. We cannot predict the future of social care funding, of demographic change, of the pressures on health and wellbeing. But we can – and must – show up with honesty, humility, and bravery. The problem all too often is a denial of truth, a willingness to take the easy route and arrogance of false assurance.

Too often, our discourse around older people drifts into deficit: cost, dependency, burden. This is not only morally wrong, but also socially and economically short‑sighted.

Courageous leadership, then, is the willingness to confront the uncomfortable truths: that our current systems are not adequate; that too many older Scots live with loneliness, poverty, or untreated ill‑health; and that tinkering at the edges will not suffice.

How you move from the inadequacy of the here and now to a future orientation is what matters and simply more of the same will not do the job. Something political leadership needs to be hearing as we move towards an election next year. Because courageous leadership in social care requires political bravery rather than tramline party conformity. It means telling hard truths about taxation and public spending. It means resisting the seduction of short-term fixes in favour of long-term transformation. Olaf Groth, writing in The Great Remobilization, warns that leaders in our time cannot simply manage disruption – they must anticipate and re design for it. Scotland’s ageing population is not a looming crisis to be feared, but a predictable reality to be planned for with creativity, compassion, and courage.

Another writer I have come across, Kirstin Ferguson, in her recent work Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership, calls on leaders to bring both rational clarity and deep empathy to their roles. This balance is essential in social care. We must be analytical about budgets, workforce planning, and integration with health services – but we must also be profoundly human, listening to older people’s voices, respecting their dignity, and recognising their aspirations.

I often say that leadership in social care is not about heroic acts, but about everyday bravery. The carer who chooses to stay an extra 15 minutes with someone who is lonely. The manager who challenges unfairness even when it risks unpopularity. The politician who argues for investment in prevention, knowing the electoral rewards may be minimal. These are acts of what Brown calls “whole‑hearted leadership.”

But let us be clear: the stakes could not be higher. If we lack courage, we will condemn too many older Scots to lives of diminished wellbeing. If we embrace it, we have the chance to create a Scotland where older people not only live longer, but live better – where health, dignity, and purpose are not privileges, but rights.

We cannot avoid the realities of ageing. We cannot skirt around the inadequacies of current provision. We must go through – with vision, with honesty, with courage. And in doing so, we may yet build a Scotland where ageing is not feared but celebrated, and where courageous leadership makes older people’s wellbeing a cornerstone of our shared future.

 

As the great contemporary Nigerian born poet Niyi Osundare writes in ‘The Leader and the Led.’:

 

The Lion stakes his claim

To the leadership of the pack

 

But the Antelopes remember

The ferocious pounce of his paws

 

The hyena says the crown is made for him

But the Impalas shudder at his lethal appetite

 

The Giraffe craves a place in the front

But his eyes are too far from the ground

 

When the Zebra says it’s his right to lead

The pack points to the duplicity of his stripes

 

The Elephant trudges into the power tussle

But its colleagues dread his trampling feet

 

The warthog is too ugly

The rhino too riotous

 

And the pack thrashes around

Like a snake without a head

 

“Our need calls for a hybrid of habits,”

Proclaims the Forest Sage,

 

“A little bit of a Lion

A little bit of a Lamb

 

Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe

Transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake

 

A leader who knows how to follow

Followers mindful of their right to lead”

 

© Niyi Osundare 2

THE LEADER AND THE LED (Niyi Osundare)

 

Donald Macaskill

Scotland is experiencing significant demographic change. By 2045, one in four Scots will be over the age of 65. This shift demands a fundamental rethink of how we plan, deliver, and finance public services. Many bodies not least the Scottish Fiscal Commission alongside the Accounts Commission have argued that such change is urgent and immediate.

Yet despite their increasing numbers and contributions, older people are often marginalised in fiscal policy debates. Or at worst are the object of casual stereotype and victimisation.

National and local government budgets are drafted and analysed with limited attention to how public spending affects the diverse lives of older people – especially those experiencing poverty, disability, rural isolation, or multiple disadvantages. Or if they are considered it’s solely through a health or social care lens and priority.

While organisations such as Age Scotland and Age UK campaign for the rights of older people, there is currently no independent group in Scotland, or the wider UK tasked specifically with analysing the impact of public budgets on older people in the way the Women’s Budget Group (WBG) does for gender.

In this slightly extended thought piece, I am presenting one argument, namely that the establishment of an Older Persons Budget Group (OPBG) would fill a glaring gap – providing independent, evidence-based analysis and promoting age-inclusive policy development across all levels of government.

A Scotland (and UK) where public budgets and spending decisions reflect the rights, needs, and contributions of older people – ensuring equity, dignity, and inclusion for all in later life should surely be the aim of any or all political and civic leadership.

I started this thought from the premise that Scotland’s governments were not spending enough on our older citizens given their demographic weight. But in truth that’s not as simple argument to make as it might appear.

On the one hand the Scottish Government and local authorities commit significant sums to older Scots. Amongst other areas of spend we have Free Personal Care for older adults alone which costs around £900 million per annum. Local authority adult social work and care budgets rose from £4.3 billion in 2023-24, and £1.7 billion was specifically allocated for social care and integration in the 2023-24 budget. This integration involves 31 health and social care partnerships managing almost £9 billion of health and social care resources, according to Health and Social Care Scotland. Recent announcements on Winter Fuel payments to pensioners account for £100–300 million, targeted at over one million older Scots.

These figures sit within a total Scottish Budget of roughly £59.7 billion for 2024-25. On the face of it, then, older people represent large recipients.

But it’s not quite as simple or perhaps as positive. Currently, adults aged 50+ make up about 40% of Scotland’s population, with those 65+ being around 22%. If spending mirrors population share, older age groups would attract 22–40% of budget allocations. But the reality is more complex. Free personal care and concessionary travel skew toward older cohorts. Health and social care combined outstrip many other areas.

However, other demographic groups also benefit: children’s services, education, rural subsidies, universal benefits. On a strict per capita basis, older people receive robust support – but not overwhelmingly so.

So are older Scots being discriminated against in terms of fiscal spend?

Discrimination implies unfair under-provision, the absence of appropriate support, or a lack of inclusion. On pure expenditure, older Scots are not neglected. Yet any regular reader of my blogs will know how frequently I bemoan the reality that age-based barriers persist in healthcare treatment, social inclusion, and service access. That many older people – especially older women – face loneliness, digital exclusion, and precarious housing. That even at policy levels such as the Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statements which promise assessment of impacts on protected characteristics – often age and in particular older age are rarely singled out

Thus, while older people benefit from universal schemes, equality of outcome and lived experience may still fall short.

The House of Commons reported that the Public Sector Equality Duty often fails older people, and protections are weak. Ageism in services is still widespread: and it stated that in the NHS older patients report lack of dignity, de-prioritisation, and negative stereotyping.

This isn’t overt financial discrimination but a systemic, subtle form of injustice, rooted not in budgets per se, but in how budgets are shaped and lived.

Spending on older Scots is not negligible – it is significant, even generous. But generosity without insight risks injustice. Older people are not a homogenous mass of pensions and care. They are individuals-  diverse, local, living incomplete lives.

Similar arguments have been in the past made about women and these led to the formation of Women’s Budget Groups across the UK.

The Scottish Women’s Budget Group (SWBG), echoing the UK-wide WBG, has long scrutinised the gendered effects of budget decisions, embedding gender-responsive and care-led analysis into fiscal debate.

Their approach has both been to undertake impact-focused scrutiny: asking how spending/policy affects different genders. They have presented a robust evidence base which has sought to link budget lines with outcomes not least on care, justice and equality. And they have done all those with consistent advocacy both in parliamentary terms and in the media.

I would contend that an Older Persons Budget Group (OPBG) could usefully apply this model.

There could be many benefits such as a re-elevation of social care, health, social isolation, housing – all key ‘aged’ lenses for budgeting. Just as the WBG surfaces gender gaps, an OPBG could uncover how budget lines – like transport, digital access, social care – tangibly affect different older-age cohorts.

It would help to ensure that age becomes an explicit equality consideration in impact assessments. And importantly it would promote targeted support for older subgroups such as unpaid carers, the very old and the digitally excluded.

It would also act to accelerate inclusion into existing duties. Scotland’s advancing Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) would benefit from formal mechanisms to assess how policies affect older populations – much in the way WBG urged for gender.

An Older Persons Budget Group (OPBG), inspired by the Women’s Budget Group (WBG), could be a transformative body in Scotland – or across the UK – providing independent, evidence-based fiscal analysis to assess how public spending decisions affect older people. Here’s how such a group might operate, structure itself, and create impact, drawing from proven models and the specific needs of ageing populations.

The practical formation and focus of an OPBG would be important.

I would suggest it needs to be an independent, and non-partisan organisation perhaps hosted by a civil society or academic institution (e.g. linked to universities, Age Scotland, or a foundation). With open membership representing the breadth of age and interests from older age advocates, gerontologists, care providers, industrial and employment interests, the creative sector etc, the OPBG would require a mix of funding sources to ensure independence and sustainability.

I’m imagining a scenario I come across all too frequently for such an OPBG.

Let’s say the Scottish Government proposes a £2bn increase in health spending but flattens social care funding. An OPBG could show that older people will benefit little from hospital-focused funding if care-at-home support declines and becomes unsustainable. It could highlight rural inequalities – where older people might be cut off from services due to reduced transport spending. It could publish a budget equity audit, noting that older women carers are disproportionately affected. And in turn it could advocate for reallocation: e.g. £100m redirected to community care and tech access for isolated pensioners.

The measure of a mature democracy is not in how loudly it applauds the aged, but in how honestly it budgets for their dignity. If we can gender our budgets, why can’t we age them too? An OPBG would not simply count pennies; it would count people – in their wisdom, their contribution, and their human worth.

So, let’s start the desire for a more equitable budgetary process which considers age as essential. And in words I have often quoted let us remember Joe Biden when he said: “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.”

Donald Macaskill

Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash