CSPA welcomes the publication on the 19th February 2025 of the cross-party Women and Equalities Committee’s report on “The rights of older people”. The WEC, chaired by Sarah Owen MP, has concluded an extensive inquiry in recent months to consider written and oral submissions from individuals, charities and other organisations representing pensioners.
CSPA contributed written evidence to the inquiry in November 2024, as part of Later Life Ambitions, with the National Federation of Occupational Pensioners (NFOP) and National Association of Retired Police Officers (NARPO). The National Pensioners Convention (NPC), Age UK, Independent Age, the Centre for Ageing Better also provided the Committee with evidence.
The report’s introductory summary cites ONS figures indicating that there are 11 million over-65s in England and Wales, with over half a million within this group being over 90, and this proportion of the population is only set to increase in the coming decades. The WEC concluded that “ageism is widespread and culturally embedded in the UK”.
The inquiry found that “despite strong evidence of real harms to individuals and society of widespread age discrimination, the UK’s equalities framework omits a focus on demographic change and ageing”, stating unequivocally that “this must be rectified”.
The report goes on to say that “older people in England lack both a minister with responsibility for the range of challenges they face and a strong independent voice to advocate for them in policy making and help protect and enforce their rights”. It goes on to say that “the Government should assess the experience in Wales, which has a well-established Commissioner for Older People and a comprehensive network of local authority Older People’s Champions…”, also referring to significant contributions by the Older People’s Commissioner in Northern Ireland.
The WEC found that “some groups of older people are at high risk of digital exclusion from a wide range of essential services and activities, including aspects of healthcare, local authority services and benefits, and banking”, saying that the fact that “the UK’s digital inclusion strategy has not been updated in over a decade” is a “considerable failure of government”.
Welcoming the report, CSPA General Secretary, Sally Tsoukaris, said,
“The parliamentary Women and Equality Committee’s findings are entirely consistent with the issues CSPA has been raising on behalf of its members for years, and many of the Report’s recommendations reflect CSPA’s campaigns, so it is a welcome start. However, there is much that this Government now needs to do to ensure that the endemic culture of discrimination against older people in our society is effectively addressed.”
“The introduction of Older People’s Commissioners in both England and Scotland, along the lines of those well-established posts in Wales and Northern Ireland, makes perfect sense and CSPA would like to see the Government acknowledge the importance of stronger advocacy for those in later life.”
“We are also pleased to see recognition of older people’s digital exclusion, and the case being made for a “renewed, cross-departmental digital inclusion strategy”, as CSPA members feel particularly strongly about these issues.”
