The current upper age limit for jury service in England and Wales is 69 years old. The Ministry of Justice is considering making changes that could see jury service extended to the over 70s. The consultation will take three factors into account: inclusiveness, competence and practicality. In ILC-UK’s opinion, juries are supposed to be representative of society as a whole, and people over 70 are an increasing proportion of the population, so it logical to have some jury members drawn from this age group.
Monthly Archives: March 2010
Jury service could be extended to the over 70s
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Guest Blog – Funding social care – on the right track ?
Our (King’s Fund) new report on social care reform sets out a blueprint for a fairer, more generous and affordable system.
Rising state pension age demands that we challenge inequalities
Labour MP Harry Cohen has argued in an article on epolitix.com[1] that raising the state pension age ‘discriminates against manual workers and people from poorer backgrounds’. In addition he claims that increasing longevity, which is the main spur to raising the state pension age from 65 to 68 by 2046, is not inevitable. Mr Cohen in fact insinuates conspiratorial motives within the actuarial profession. This is surely far-fetched; indeed actuarial estimates have frequently underestimated increases in longevity. Nevertheless, his criticisms do raise some important questions.
Fixing public sector pensions requires cooler heads to prevail
The publication last week of the National Audit Office’s report on the cost of public sector pensions produced an inevitable media outcry[1]. In the current fiscal climate, it may be more forgivable this time, but nevertheless a more adult approach to the debate would benefit everyone.