BBC Democracy Live - Prepare now for ageing population says SNP MSP 5 March 2013 Last updated at 18:24 Help Finance Committee convener Kenneth Gibson said Scotland "must prepare for the challenge ahead now" in relation to its changing demographics and ageing population and how these issues should inform the government's policy and budgets. The SNP MSP was leading a debate on the committee's 'demographic change and an ageing population' report on 5 March 2013. Mr Gibson said a great deal of work had been done on the issue but added there "was a lack of real progress" in changing the way public services are delivered. He highlighted the need for "radical reform" to ensure public services collaborated effectively if Scotland was to cope with its ageing population. The aim of the committee's inquiry was to identify/highlight what the budgetary impacts would be within three policy areas: Health and social care Housing Pensions and labour force Finance Secretary John Swinney said the government was meeting the challenge of demographic changes with public services reform aiming for an outcome based approach and with preventative spend being a key element. Mr Swinney called for a public services designs with the "individual at their heart" which was the direction of government approach. He said there were a range of very strong examples of good practice of public service delivery being under taken around the country, adding this good practice must be spread across the country. Scottish Labour MSP Ken Macintosh told MSPs the "problems facing our society are not caused by age distribution abut by uneven wealth distribution." Mr Macintosh said: "It is very difficult to break the short-term political cycle but if those of us who are part of supposedly social democratic parties cannot agree on a long-term strategy to help our public services adapt, then we will find ourselves descending into a cycle of cuts and crises." Annabel Goldie, the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, highlighted the variation in approach to planning for public services across all councils and called on clear guidelines on long term planning to be provided by central government.