ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First to put the research in context as an example of a piece of research funded by a Government Department and to assess its likely impact. Second to raise certain key issues which need to be addressed in the final part of the research. An important part of research on elderly people at the Department of the Environment (DOE) has been consultations with professional and other audiences at various stages of the work. To enable this debate to be informed the results of the first part of the research are summarised.
