Unemployment On The Rise Yet Again

Figures released yesterday from the Office of National Statistics have shown that unemployment across the UK has risen by 35,000 in the last 3 months.

With unemployment now standing at the 2.5 million mark, the increase has been widely blamed on recent public spending cuts introduced by the government in their comprehensive spending review. This is of particular concern to over 50s, as early indications from Wise Owls' research has shown that they are felling the brunt of public sector job losses.

The research is ongoing, with the findings expected to be published early in the new year, and is part of a larger Age Equality Impact Assessment Campaign being conducted by Wise Owls.

NGO Coalition on Intergenerational Solidarity welcomes EPSCO decision to declare 2012 European Year for Active Ageing & Solidarity between Generations

We are pleased that the EPSCO Council supported our call and has decided to extend the title for the proposed European Year 2012 to “Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations”.

We welcome the objectives of the Year, i.e. “to encourage and support the efforts of Member States, their regional and local authorities, social partners, civil society and the business community to promote active ageing and to do more to mobilise the potential of the rapidly growing population in their late 50s and above, thereby creating a society for all ages and fostering solidarity and cooperation between generations”.

Together with a large coalition of European NGOs, we have campaigned for several years now to promote a vision of a society for all ages based on greater solidarity and cooperation between generations. Through this campaign we have collected examples of good practice and recommendations to help policy makers at local, national and European level design policies that strengthen intergenerational solidarity through active ageing. Empowering older people to age in good health and to contribute more actively to the labour market and to their communities is necessary to help us cope with our demographic challenge in a way that is fair and sustainable for all generations.

Conservative MP supports campaign but fails to endorse it

Wise Owls received a response today from the Conservative MP for Cardiff North Jonathan Evans. The letter, which is in response to our Equality Impact Assessment Campaign agreed with the sentiment of our campign, but failed to go that step further and support the suggestions made within it.

The campaign asks the government to assess the implications of the cuts to those most in need that come under the equality banner. In addition Wise Owls are asking for the government to measure the cuts on the workforce - taking a measurement of exisitng employees, those recruited and those made redudant by age.

It is our understanding that until we have a baseline figure, we are unable to tell whether staff are being targetted because of age when it comes to employment. Therefore it has been left to us to accumalate these statistics and that is what we are in the process of doing now.

Last year Wise Owls embarked on a research of all employees in the London borough councils and the Englsih National councils using the FOI Act. Our results and conclusion can be viewed here. Ageism in the public sector workforce - Wise Owls Age Audit

The Age Discrimination Act introduced in 2006 and updated in 2010 though welcome, will fail to be as protective as it need be unless statistic ananlysis is included iwithin its framework.

For the full letter from Jonathan Evans - click here.

GP's Guilty of Age Discrimination

A new report has revealed that older people are less likely to recieve referals from thier GP than younger people with similar symptoms.

In a study contucted by a team from the King's Fund and University College London, which compared referal for three common symptoms in patients of different ages, sex and wealth, people aged over 85 were found to be 61% less likely to be refered for postmenopausal bleeding and 32% less likely to be refered for hip pain. The team analysed data for 130,000 patients from 326 practices throughout the UK over a 6 year period.

The report published yesterday in the British Medical Journal did not examin the reasoning behind GPs decision, however Michelle Mitchell of Age UK stressed that "A doctor's decision to refer patients must be based solely on the patient's clinical need, not their age. Age discrimination in health provision will be unlawful from 2012 and it can't come a moment too soon for older people in need of medical care."

Royal Wedding Day Will Fall On European Day Of Solidarity Between Generations

The wedding day of Prince William and Ms Middleton, announced yesterday, will take place on the 3^rd European Day of Solidarity between Generations and will give a special dimension to the numerous activities organised on that day across the European Union.

AGE, together with 13 EU NGOs, has been running a campaign to promote greater solidarity and cooperation between generations. On 29 April 2009, this NGO coalition launched the first EU Day of Solidarity between Generations which was celebrated across the EU.

More information on the European Day of Solidarity between Generations can be found at:

http://www.age-platform.eu/en/age-policy-work/solidarity-between-generations/campaign.

"Addressing Dementia Should Go Beyond The Strictly Medical Approach" Says AGE EU

“With the rapid demographic ageing, the prevalence of dementia is expected to increase sharply in the near future. A better coordination of social and health policies on old age dementia is therefore needed to tackle mental health diseases and to ensure a decent life to all patients with dementia and their families. We need a holistic approach to create a dementia friendly society”, highlighted Anne-Sophie Parent on the eve of the EU Presidency Conference on Dementia

In the last few years, the European Union has acknowledged the growing prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and has called for coordinated action through initiatives, such as the Joint Programming Initiative on Alzheimer and other neurodegenerative diseases launched last April to boost research in that area.

AGE Platform Europe has just issued a position paper stressing the need to tackle all dimensions of mental health diseases, from prevention to measures in support of informal carers, and suggesting seven recommendations to EU and national policy makers:

1. Create an “Alzheimer friendly” environment;

2. Improve quality of life of patients without relying only on medication;

3. Support informal carers;

4. Ensure adequate financing to tackle inequalities and ensure quality;

5. Change the way society looks at dementia;

6. Promote healthy ageing and well-being of older people;

7. Use the Open Method of Coordination to develop and exchange good practices.

This position paper entitled “Position on Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementias: Widen the debate beyond care and treatment issues” can be accessed on the AGE website at: http://www.age-platform.eu/images/stories/AGE_PositionPaper_Dementia_Nov10.doc.

European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing Conference Announced

The draft agenda for the upcoming Stakeholders Consultation Conference on European Innovation on Active and Healthy aging was released today. The conference, which will be held this Friday in Brussels will feature a series of speechs, as well as open discussions with the expert panel and audience

Click here to view the full draft agenda