In the same week the Government launched its Green Paper on Social Care, they have also launched their new Ageing Strategy, “Building a Society for all Ages”. In the strategy, the Government commits to bring forward the review of the Default Retirement Age to 2010 (making the announcement in the same week that the Court of Appeal hears a legal challenge to the default retirement age). The strategy also sets out a number of new measures including:
*A new Active at 60 package and all-in-one cards which will provide people with greater opportunities to stay active and involved in their later life.
*Support for digital inclusion projects and a Grandparents Summit in the autumn.
*A new interactive one stop shop for helping people planning ahead.
*An innovative service delivery fund to test new approaches to delivering services for older people.
*A new UK Advisory Forum on Ageing responsible for providing advice to ministers across Government.
The strategy is available at: http://www.hmg.gov.uk/buildingasocietyforallages.aspx
While it’s a step in the right direction that the Government has brought forward the review of the NDRA to 2010 from 2011, Age Concern and Help the Aged would still strongly prefer ministers to accept right now that deeming someone to be economically unproductive at 65 is a nonsense.
We’ll be in the High Court today challenging the NDRA and arguing the case that the Employment Regulations of 2006 do not properly interpret EU rulings. If we win, hundreds of tribunals which are on hold will be resolved and millions of older people will finally have the right to work as long as they want, instead of being told they cannot because they’ve reached a certain birthday.