By . Chris Pleasance . PUBLISHED: . 03:25 EST, 19 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:51 EST, 19 October 2013 . Government ministers have said that iPads could be given to elderly people who could use video conferencing and email to stay in touch . Lonely pensioners should be given iPads to provide a 'low-cost link to the outside world', ministers have said. The advice has emerged just a day after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt branded the forgotten millions of elderly people in the UK a 'national disgrace'. At the National Children and Adults Services conference yesterday, Mr Hunt revealed that around five million people say television is their main form of company. But it has now become apparent that in July ministers suggested video conferencing and emails on tablet computers as a way for elderly people to stay in touch with their families. In a response to a House of Lords inquiry the Government said: 'Systems are now available which use lightweight touchscreen tablets enabled with wi-fi and broadband to allow users to send and receive email and text messages, share photos and video conference with family, friends, care providers and health professionals via a universal messaging system.' Baroness Wilkins, a Labour peer, attacked the suggestion in the House of Lords. She told The Telegraph: 'This surely was dreamed up by a 25 year-old, totally unaware of the realities of being an 85 year-old woman living on her own in frail health in 2030. 'Loneliness requires human contact, touch and empathy, and the everyday stimulus of news and gossip. It requires people whose presence does not depend on the state of a local authority’s budget.' A Department of Health spokesperson said: 'Loneliness amongst older people is a serious problem, and one that cannot be tackled using a 'quick fix' solution. It is about changing attitudes in society, and making time in our busy lives. 'Older people deserve the utmost respect and dignity in care. There is no substitute for human contact and the emotional support and companionship of a close friend or family member.' Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that there are five million people living in the UK whose main source of company is the television . The plans were attacked by Labour peer Baroness Wilkes who said they had been dreamed up by a 25-year-old with no idea what it is like to be old . In his speech Mr Hunt said he was struck by the reverence people in Asian countries show to their elderly people. 'My wife is Chinese and I am struck by the reverence and respect for older people in Asian culture,' he said. Hunt added: 'If we are to tackle the challenge of an ageing society, we must learn from this -- and restore and reinvigorate the social contract between generations. 'And uncomfortable though it is to say it, it will only start with changes in the way we personally treat our own parents and grandparents.' Concerns about social care have been heightened in recent months by a series of scandals of abuse and neglect in care homes, which house about 400,000 people in England. A recent report also sparked alarm about the care local authorities were providing to people in their own homes, revealing that three-quarters allowed carers to spend just 15 minutes with each of their patients. The number of people aged 60 or over hit 14million for the first time in 2011 and is expected to rise to 20 million by 2031.
Response to House of Lords inquiry said OAPs should be given iPads .
Video conferencing could stop elderly people becoming lonely .
They could also use it to stay in touch with doctors and carers .
Suggestion was heavily criticised as being 'dreamed up by a 25-year-old'
By . Chris Pleasance . PUBLISHED: . 03:25 EST, 19 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:51 EST, 19 October 2013 . Government ministers have said that iPads could be given to elderly people who could use video conferencing and email to stay in touch . Lonely pensioners should be given iPads to provide a 'low-cost link to the outside world', ministers have said. The advice has emerged just a day after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt branded the forgotten millions of elderly people in the UK a 'national disgrace'. At the National Children and Adults Services conference yesterday, Mr Hunt revealed that around five million people say television is their main form of company. But it has now become apparent that in July ministers suggested video conferencing and emails on tablet computers as a way for elderly people to stay in touch with their families. In a response to a House of Lords inquiry the Government said: 'Systems are now available which use lightweight touchscreen tablets enabled with wi-fi and broadband to allow users to send and receive email and text messages, share photos and video conference with family, friends, care providers and health professionals via a universal messaging system.' Baroness Wilkins, a Labour peer, attacked the suggestion in the House of Lords. She told The Telegraph: 'This surely was dreamed up by a 25 year-old, totally unaware of the realities of being an 85 year-old woman living on her own in frail health in 2030. 'Loneliness requires human contact, touch and empathy, and the everyday stimulus of news and gossip. It requires people whose presence does not depend on the state of a local authority’s budget.' A Department of Health spokesperson said: 'Loneliness amongst older people is a serious problem, and one that cannot be tackled using a 'quick fix' solution. It is about changing attitudes in society, and making time in our busy lives. 'Older people deserve the utmost respect and dignity in care. There is no substitute for human contact and the emotional support and companionship of a close friend or family member.' Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that there are five million people living in the UK whose main source of company is the television . The plans were attacked by Labour peer Baroness Wilkes who said they had been dreamed up by a 25-year-old with no idea what it is like to be old . In his speech Mr Hunt said he was struck by the reverence people in Asian countries show to their elderly people. 'My wife is Chinese and I am struck by the reverence and respect for older people in Asian culture,' he said. Hunt added: 'If we are to tackle the challenge of an ageing society, we must learn from this -- and restore and reinvigorate the social contract between generations. 'And uncomfortable though it is to say it, it will only start with changes in the way we personally treat our own parents and grandparents.' Concerns about social care have been heightened in recent months by a series of scandals of abuse and neglect in care homes, which house about 400,000 people in England. A recent report also sparked alarm about the care local authorities were providing to people in their own homes, revealing that three-quarters allowed carers to spend just 15 minutes with each of their patients. The number of people aged 60 or over hit 14million for the first time in 2011 and is expected to rise to 20 million by 2031.
could use video conferencing and email to stay in touch . Lonely pensioners should be given iPads elderly people to stay in touch with their families. In a response to a House of Lords dreamed up by a 25-year-old with no idea what it