PAPER 4:2008
older people's CONSULTATIVE FORUM
update oN issues since april
The Forum last met on 21 April, and much has happened over the summer. This note gives an update on these, by date order.
26 June - Discrimination Law Review announcement
The UK Government announced the outcome of their Discrimination Law Review on 26 June in Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill. The announcement said that the Government will
- bring together all previous discrimination law into a single Act of Parliament, plus secondary legislation (replacing 9 major Acts of Parliament, around 100 statutory instruments, and more than 2,500 pages of guidance and statutory codes of practice)
- extend age discrimination legislation from employment into the provision of goods and services
- start to consult interested parties on how to make the new law effective - including health and social care providers, the financial services sector and others in the public and private sectors as well as organisations representing people who experience age discrimination.
- in the light of these discussions, will set out a timetable for further public consultation and introduction of the new age discrimination ban.
The UK Government see a new streamlined Equality Duty as replacing the race, disability and gender equality duties, and also covering gender reassignment, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief.
This means in practice that the duty will require public bodies to consider how their policies, programmes and services affect different disadvantaged groups in the community - the document quotes the examples at Annex A. The UK Government will be discussing with relevant organisations how the new duty will work in practice.
The full text of chapter 2 of Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill on age discrimination is at Annex B. It presents an overview, with much more detail and consultation to come.
5 July - 'See the person, not the age' anti ageism campaign - began on 4 July with a launch in Dundee, first media appearing on Monday 7 July, and running to 2 October.
13 August - Benefits Update Pilot launched
A new scheme to improve the up-take of benefits among older people, initiated by Age Concern Scotland, was launched on the 13 August by the Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon. The project, funded by the Scottish Government and the Department of Work and Pensions, will be piloted in Glasgow's East End and Aberdeenshire. The press announcement text was:
'A new scheme to improve the up-take of benefits among older people was launched by Age Concern Scotland. More than £4.5bn worth of benefits is currently lying unclaimed in Britain, according to the charity.
The project, funded by the Scottish Government and the Department of Work and Pensions, will be piloted in Glasgow's East End and Aberdeenshire. Local older people organisations will be involved in providing free benefit checks and help with form filling.
David Manion, Chief Executive for Age Concern Scotland, said many older people were missing out. "They are unaware they are entitled to extra cash, don't know how to claim, or feel there is a stigma attached and would rather 'make do'," he said.
Launching the pilot, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "In these days of ever increasing fuel, food and other domestic bills, we must take action to ensure that older people don't miss out on what they are eligible to claim from the state."
UK Pensions Minister Mike O'Brien said pensioners were feeling the affect of price rises in their heating bills and at the supermarket. "We want them to claim all of the benefits they're entitled to - just a few pounds can make all the difference," he said.
He added that the process for claiming pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit was to be simplified, and if people claimed before 6 October they may be eligible for one year's backdated money.'
25 August - BBC Primetime programme began
Primetime has been broadcast on
- Monday evenings at 8pm on BBC Two Scotland from 25 August.
- Tuesdays at 11am on BBC Radio Scotland - Primetime Extra for another chance to make up your mind.
- Wednesday at 10.05-11am on MacAulay & Co on BBC Radio Scotland when there is a last roundup of each group and the vote will close.
The BBC Primetime web-site has details of 18 projects across Scotland that deal with health and wellbeing, mental health, intergenerational and volunteering issues, and all to do with older people. There are 3 projects from each of
- North East
- Ayrshire and South
- Edinburgh and Lothians
- Glasgow and West
- Highlands and Islands
- Central and Fife.
16 September - National Forum on Ageing Implementation Group
The National Forum on Ageing Implementation Group held its first meeting on 16 September. The Forum considered its remit and a workplan, and agreed it would look in subsequent meetings at the Scottish Government's 5 Strategic Objectives - a Scotland that is wealthier and fairer; smarter; healthier; safer and stronger; and greener.
The Forum also
- considered progress with implementation of All Our Futures,
- noted a proposal for a National Forum on Ageing Futures Group,
- considered a paper suggesting indicators of success for All Our Futures; and
- heard a presentation on policing for older people from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, with an emphasis on seeking views on what policing issues are currently important for older people in Scotland.
29 September - Older People's Consultative Forum
1 October - UK Older People's Day
These are all planning events in Scotland:
- the Scottish Government with the Older People's Consultative Forum being held deliberately close to the day, and the 'See the person, not the age' anti-ageism campaign Infotruck visiting a number of places around Scotland late in September, and finishing on 2 October because of the connection to the day.
- Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice;
- Edinburgh - an event at Meadowbank;
- South Lanarkshire;
- Western Isles.
13 November - Ageing research conference, Glasgow
14 November - All Our Futures Stakeholder event, Glasgow
17 November - Holyrood Events conference, Edinburgh 'With respect to old age rights, equality and care for Scotland's older people' It will focus on the recent (April) Sutherland Report Independent Review of Free Personal and Nursing Care in Scotland. The Minister (Shona Robison) is delivering the keynote address.
Older People and Age Team
Scottish Government
22 September 2008
ANNEX A
EXAMPLES OF THE IMPACT THE NEW SINGLE EQUALITY DUTY WILL HAVE ON PUBLIC BODIES
A single duty could lead to:
A town planner thinking about the impact that drop-down kerbs and accessible public toilets can have on the day to day life of a wheelchair user.
Extra park benches being provided in local parks by the council, so that older people can benefit from public spaces as well as younger people.
A residential care home being sensitive to the fear that a resident may feel about disclosing they have a same-sex partner, who they want to share accommodation with.
A health authority targeting a diabetes awareness-raising campaign at South Asian people, after identifying that they are at greater risk of developing the disease.
A police authority developing an emergency mobile phone text service, and incorporating sign language video clips on its web site to meet the needs of Deaf people.
A local authority looking for a provider of 'meals on wheels' that delivers culturally diverse food, including Kosher and Halal meals.
A local authority not providing parking tickets through complicated technology which older people are less able to use.
Transport service planners improving bus routes to supermarkets, schools and health centres to cater for women who use public transport in different ways and for different reasons from men.
ANNEX B
FRAMEWORK FOR A FAIRER FUTURE - THE EQUALITY BILL
This is the full text of chapter 2 on ending age discrimination:
Chapter 2: Ending age discrimination
It is wrong that people are treated in a discriminatory way because of their age. We have already banned unjustifiable age discrimination in the workplace. With the number of people aged over 85 set to double over the next two decades, we need to ensure that older people are treated fairly, have fulfilling lives and are able to play a full part in society.
But there is a significant amount of evidence that older people are being treated in a discriminatory way by those providing goods and services, including health and social care. There are also concerns about restricted access to some financial services, such as insurance. Such treatment is not currently against the law.
The Equality Bill will enable us to make it unlawful to discriminate against someone because of their age when providing goods, facilities and services or carrying out public functions.
The new law will ban unjustifiable age discrimination against over-18 year olds. For example, a doctor failing to investigate a health complaint raised by an older person or not providing treatment simply because of their age; or retailers assuming that older people are incapable of signing a contract - for example for a mobile phone or loan - without a younger person present to explain the details.
It will not affect the differential provision of products or services for older people where this is justified - for example free bus passes for over-60s and priority flu vaccinations for over-60s or group holidays for particular age groups or actuarially justifiable age-based treatment in areas such as financial services.
The specifics of the new law will be set out in secondary legislation made under the Equality Bill. We will give service providers time to address the practical and organisational issues that are likely to arise. For example, in mental health and social care, research suggests that there are extensive differences in treatment between age groups. We recognise that tackling this is likely to be a long-term challenge and non-legislative measures are already making a difference.
We will start straight away on work to improve our understanding of the impact on different sectors and we will make provision to be able to bring the new law into force more quickly in those sectors which will be ready to comply with the law earlier than others. The inclusion of age in the new public sector Equality Duty will help public bodies to prepare for the ban. The Equality and Human Rights Commission will also help those service providers affected
prepare for the introduction of the new law.
We will start to consult interested parties on how to make the new law effective - including health and social care providers, the financial services sector and others in the public and private sectors as well as organisations representing people who experience age discrimination. We have already established a working group to help us understand where age discrimination exists in the provision of financial services and the possible impact of legislation in this area. We want to make sure we only outlaw unjustified discrimination without unintentionally stopping things that are beneficial to particular age groups. In the light of these discussions, we will set out a timetable for further public consultation and introduction of the new age discrimination ban.
End of chapter 2
The full text of Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill (40 pages) is at:
http://www.equalities.gov.uk/publications/FRAMEWORK%20FAIRER%20FUTURE.pdf