THE spotlight is on Dorset as investigators from top TV current affairs show Panorama probe how the county is meeting the needs of a growing older population.

Respected broadcaster and writer Dame Joan Bakewell spent several days in Dorset talking to local authority employees and older people for the programme which will be shown on Monday.

She explores the challenges of providing social care in the future and how services will have to adapt to meet demand.

Dame Joan, who was until recently the Government’s ‘pensioners’ tsar’ standing up for the rights of older people, also examines how local authorities will fund care in the future.

Dorset County Council’s adult and community services budget could be trimmed by more than £7 million in Government funding cuts.

Dorset has the highest proportion of population above retirement age of any county council in the country, with more than 28 per cent. The area’s popularity as a retirement hotspot combined with the fact that people are living longer means this figure will rise dramatically over the next few years.

Head of older people’s services at Dorset County Council Andrew Archibald said: “We were pleased to take part in the Panorama programme and to share with viewers how Dorset is managing the pressures of an ageing population.

“We work in partnership with older people and organisations.”

Panorama is on BBC1 on Monday at 8.30pm.