"Consign ageism to the dustbin of history"

By Tony Watts - Editor - 27/06/2008

Britain’s biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has welcomed the publication of the Equality Bill, but has called for more practical measures to change attitudes towards the older population.
 
Pat Healy, NPC vice president said: “Having equality on paper is a major step towards tackling age discrimination in society, but putting that into practice is going to be much harder to achieve. The devil will be in the detail of the bill and with a possible delay of up to five years before this legislation takes effect, millions of older patients, travellers and tenants will remain second-class citizens.
 
“Until such time as society changes its attitude towards growing older, we have a right to ask who is going to stop the doctor making a decision based on age rather than clinical need? Who is going to prevent the insurance company from denying travel insurance to someone over 80 and who is going to ensure that society doesn’t continue to regard older people as a burden rather than a resource?
 
“When the cabinet has a proportion of older people serving in it and pensioners are given proper economic power through a decent state pension, then we’ll know that ageism has really been consigned to the dustbin of history.”

 

The new Government plans to make age discrimination illegal have been described as a "massive step forward" by Age Concern and Help the Aged. But now, they say, is the time for the public to press their MPs to make sure the legislation happens as soon as possible.

The charities put out a joint statement welcoming the statement from Equalities Secretary Harriet Harman. Michael Lake, Director General of Help the Aged, said: "For a long time the Government would not accept that age discrimination was a problem. Now it has, and so the timetable for action is absolutely crucial.

"Older people have been waiting for far too long to be treated as equals – and they shouldn’t have to wait for these rights any longer. Legislation must be enacted without delay so older people can be on a truly equal footing as soon as possible.

“Help us keep up the pressure - email your MP to ensure that this legislation is enacted as soon as possible."

Age Concern's Director General, Gordon Lishman, said: “The government’s decision to use the Equality Bill to outlaw age discrimination is fantastic news. It sends a clear signal that ageism should be taken as seriously as any other form of discrimination. This legislation will transform the lives of millions of older people by giving them the same opportunities to participate in society as everyone else.
 
“The Government must now move very quickly to set out the detail and provide a clear timetable for action. Gordon Brown has recently spoken of his vision of a Britain without prejudice – today’s announcement will go a long way to achieving this.”

The Help the Aged “Just Equal Treatment” campaign called on the Government to make age discrimination illegal and extend the public sector equality duty - which currently requires local authorities to promote equality between people of different race, gender and disability status - to include age so older people’s needs are taken into account in public services.