A think-tank report examined people's experiences of growing older – their quality of life, their expectations, and their emotional well-being. It reviewed policies for older people and international practice, and concluded with recommendations for action designed to challenge 'outdated assumptions' about older people.
Source: James McCormick with Jonathan Clifton, Alice Sachrajda, Myriam Cherti and Eleanor McDowell, Getting On: Well-being in later life, Institute for Public Policy Research
Date: 2009-Dec
A report made recommendations for tackling disadvantage in later life. It said that inequality in old age was the result of disadvantages that had accumulated during people's lifetimes. These inequalities had an impact on people's health, income, social support, and employment throughout their lives. Inequalities added up to create 'huge gaps in life outcomes' in later life.
Source: Michele Lee, Just Ageing? Fairness, equality and the life course, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Age Concern, and Help the Aged
Links: Report | EHRC press release
Date: 2009-Dec
The Welsh Assembly Government published a 'state of the nation' report on the well-being of older people in Wales – designed to guide the future work of the Government and its partners in planning for demographic change.
Source: Older People's Wellbeing Monitor for Wales 2009, Welsh Assembly Government
Date: 2009-Dec
An article examined the meanings of citizenship for older people, and identified two strands – volunteering as leisure and work, and volunteering as care and civic consciousness. Government views of volunteering as a route to paid work, as a panacea for society and therefore needing to be more 'work-like', were discordant with the perspectives of older volunteers.
Source: Mabel Lie, Susan Baines and Jane Wheelock, 'Citizenship, volunteering and active ageing', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 43 Number 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Dec
An article examined the association between socio-economic position and physical disability at older ages, using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Socio-economic circumstances affected the prevalence and scale of physical disability even at older ages. In particular, wealth appeared more important as a socio-economic factor for physical disability than social class or education. Socio-economic gradients in physical disability were greater for men than for women and for those in the younger age groups.
Source: Edlira Gjonca, Faiza Tabassum and Elizabeth Breeze, 'Socioeconomic differences in physical disability at older age', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 63 Number 11
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Nov
A government report examined ways of helping to reduce the crime and anti-social behaviour – and the fear of them – experienced by older people in Northern Ireland.
Source: Safer Ageing: A strategy and action plan for ensuring the safety of older people, Northern Ireland Office (028 9052 0700)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Nov
Researchers examined evidence on attitudes to age in Britain. Nearly one-half of survey respondents (48 per cent) – and a higher proportion of women, people who were white, or people working full-time – viewed age discrimination as a serious issue. For people of all ages, ageism was experienced more commonly than any other form of prejudice.
Source: Dominic Abrams, Tiina Eilola and Hannah Swift, Attitudes to Age in Britain 2004-08, Research Report 599, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report | Technical appendices | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2009-Oct
A report summarized the outcome of a series of seminars at which a wide range of stakeholders discussed what kinds of change were needed to create fairer approaches to ageing. Every political party's election manifesto should include an outline of long-term entitlements under a National Care Service to highlight a commitment to treating older people fairly.
Source: Donald Hirsch with Josh Bicknell, Fair Ageing: The challenge of our lifetime, Counsel and Care (020 7241 8555) and Housing 21
Links: Report | Counsel and Care press release
Date: 2009-Oct
A new book examined the nature of family involvement as people aged. The book explored diversity and change in the family relationships older people maintained, looking at how family relationships were constructed and organized in later life.
Source: Pat Chambers, Graham Allan, Chris Phillipson and Mo Ray (eds.), Family Practices in Later Life, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Sep
A report examined the economic challenges of an ageing population. The ratio of the number of workers to the number of young and old people had peaked in 2007 and was now in decline. The report said that the downside of getting outcomes 'wrong' – doing nothing based on existing trajectories – was that this could result in economic stagnation. There was a need for greater linkages between policies, so that changes in longevity or in other variables should be matched by changes in pension age, pension and benefit values, participation rates, or healthy life expectancy.
Source: Les Mayhew, Increasing Longevity and the Economic Value of Healthy Ageing and Working Longer, Cass Business School/City University (020 7040 8600)
Links: Report | CASS press release
Date: 2009-Jul
A paper examined evidence on the social exclusion experienced by older people in rural areas, and identified examples of innovative service delivery. Linked reports mapped levels of need by older people in rural areas, and highlighted diseconomies of scale in delivering health and social care services.
Source: Working Together for Older People in Rural Areas, Social Exclusion Task Force/Cabinet Office (020 7276 1234) and Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion, Mapping the Level of Need: Assessing the social exclusion of older people in rural areas, Social Exclusion Task Force/Cabinet Office | Matrix Knowledge Group, Research into Diseconomies of Scale in Delivering Health and Social Care in Rural Areas, Social Exclusion Task Force/Cabinet Office
Links: Report | Mapping report | Health/social care report
Date: 2009-Jul
The government published a strategy designed to help Britain prepare for an ageing society. It said that a review of the default retirement age would be brought forward from 2011 to 2010. More needed to be done to respond to changing families as a result of the ageing society – with grandparents playing a stronger role, and more people caring for elderly relatives.
Source: Building A Society For All Ages, Cm 7655, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Strategy | Hansard | DWP press release | TUC press release | CBI press release | CIPD press release | REC press release | NIACE press release | Community Care report | Personnel Today report | Guardian report | People Management report | Professional Pensions report
Date: 2009-Jul
The government began consultation on proposals for a new legal ban on age discrimination. It said that it would bring legislation into force in phases, starting with those sectors that were most ready to comply. It was expected that the legislation would be in force in all sectors, with the exception of health and social care, by 2012.
Source: Equality Bill: Making It Work – Ending Age Discrimination in Services and Public Functions, Government Equalities Office (020 7944 0601)
Links: Consultation document | Impact assessment | Hansard | GEO press release | Help the Aged press release
Date: 2009-Jun
A report said that adult education was one of the ways in which older people could remain active and engaged in society, and made proposals for improving education for older people – including a new and more powerful role for local authorities.
Source: Stephen McNair, Older People's Learning: An action plan, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (0116 204 4200)
Links: NIACE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Jun
A report for the equal rights watchdog examined the research literature on people aged 50 and over from an equalities perspective. It focused on five broad themes: employment; earnings, pensions, and benefits; education; health; community life; and access to services.
Source: Deborah Smeaton and Sandra Vegeris, Older People Inside and Outside the Labour Market: A review, Research Report 22, Equality and Human Rights Commission (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-May
A report called for action to ensure that communities were designed for an increasingly elderly population. Existing care and support services were insufficiently accessible, and were of low quality.
Source: Future Communities: Re-shaping our society for older people, Help the Aged (020 7278 1114)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Mar
A report said that a law was needed in Northern Ireland to protect older people against discrimination when they were accessing goods, facilities, and services.
Source: Lisa Glennon and Brice Dickson, Making Older People Equal: Reforming the law on access to services in Northern Ireland, Changing Ageing Partnership (028 9097 3650)
Links: Report | QUB press release
Date: 2009-Mar
The government published its response to the Elbourne review of older people's engagement with government. It announced the creation of a new United Kingdom Advisory Forum on Ageing, chaired by ministers, designed to enable older people to influence policy, services, legislation, and to raise other issues that they felt the government needed to address.
Source: Empowering Engagement: A Stronger Voice for Older People – The Government Response to John Elbourne's Review, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Response | Elbourne report | Hansard | DWP press release | Counsel and Care press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Feb
The government published indicators of older people's well-being and independence, designed to monitor the effect that central and local government strategies on ageing were having on the lives of older people. The indicators showed an improving trend overall: older people were living longer, healthier lives than they had done 10 years previously.
Source: Opportunity Age Indicators: 2008 Update, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Report | DWP press release
Date: 2009-Jan
A report said that a narrow focus on skills for work and on younger people was inadequate to meet the challenges of demographic change. Older people needed more opportunities to learn if they were to actively contribute – rather than be a cost to society – during the 20 or more years they spent in 'retirement'.
Source: Stephen McNair, Demography and Lifelong Learning, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (0116 204 4200)
Links: Report | NIACE press release | Help the Aged press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Jan
