Ministers consult on making unfair age discrimination in goods and services unlawful

The government has launched a consultation on plans to make it unlawful to unfairly discriminate against someone because of their age when providing goods and services, with the new rules set to apply to the public as well as private sectors.

In the consultation the Government Equalities Office also proposed that there should be no specific exceptions for health and social care. “The plans will eliminate harmful discrimination while allowing justifiable and beneficial age-based practices, for example in public health programmes,” it said.

The new rules are expected to come into force in Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland) in April 2012. They will apply equally to the young as well as the old, although not to children under 18.

The consultation proposes some exceptions to the ban, however. One will see companies allowed to continue to offer beneficial services to certain age groups – “for example free bus travel for over-60s, or holidays aimed at people aged 30 and under”, the government said. Providers of financial services, such as insurance companies, will also be allowed to use age when assessing risk and deciding prices.

The government said organisations seeking to use an exception will have to “base such decisions on solid evidence rather than simply imposing a blanket ban”.

The GEO also suggested that: sports bodies would be permitted to impose age restrictions, such as running different teams and leagues for under-21s and veterans; residential park homes would be permitted to include age restrictions in their admission rules; and immigration authorities would be “allowed to treat people differently because of their age where it is necessary for them to fulfil their functions”.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said: "It's high time we put an end to outdated stereotypes based on age and recognised the valuable contributions that people of all ages can make to our society and economy. When older people are turned away from the market place through unfair treatment, the economy misses out on increased business and revenue.

"These proposals will ensure that doesn't happen, providing new protection and support for people of all ages. However, we don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, which is why we will allow businesses to continue to provide the age-specific services that many people of all ages benefit from every day."

Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said that by not seeking any exception from the application of the Equality Act 2010, the Department of Health was sending “a clear message” that there was no place for age discrimination in the NHS.

This follows reports by the British Geriatrics Society and a Health Ombudsman report on care and compassion, which suggested that older people “do not always receive the same standard of care from the NHS as younger patients”.

The minister also pointed to the Age Review carried out in 2009 which identified a number of areas in health and social care where age discrimination was most likely to occur. The review published a number of recommendations on the best way for the ban on age discrimination to be introduced.

Burstow added: “There can be no place for arbitrary age discrimination in the NHS. We know that older people are not always treated with the dignity they deserve because of ageist attitudes.

“Our population is ageing as more of us live longer. The challenge for the NHS is to look beyond a person's date of birth and meet the needs of older people as individuals.”

The Department of Health stressed that the Equality Act 2010 did not aim to prevent age discrimination when there were beneficial or justifiable reasons for it, only harmful discrimination.

“Commissioners and providers of NHS and social care services should continue to make sensible, clinically justifiable decisions based on age for relevant services such as eligibility for screening and vaccination programmes that are based on the best evidence available,” it said.

The Department cited a number of examples of clinical decisions based on age which would not be affected by the ban. These include:

• Cervical cancer screening programme
• NHS Health Checks
• Seasonal flu vaccination
• IVF treatment
• NHS charges

But it also suggested examples of the type of harmful discrimination the ban aimed to end such as:

• “Making assumptions about whether an older patient should be referred for treatment based solely on their age, rather than on the individual need and fitness level
• Not referring certain age groups for a particular treatment or intervention (such as those not of working age) that are considered mainly, but not exclusively for working age adults
• Not considering the wellbeing or dignity of older people.”

NHS South West produced a resource pack that includes a self assessment toolkit for health and social care organisations, a guide for NHS commissioners and providers and a guide for social care.

The proposals can be downloaded from the Government Equalities Office website. The consultation will last for three months.

Philip Hoult