The Older People’s Commissioner

You can sign up to our LinkedIn newsletter here.

Interestingly, a report from the Women and Equalities Committee recommended the creation of a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England.  Yet, we still don’t have one (as of December 2024).  Age UK and the Centre for Ageing Better have made multiple submissions to the Committee, repeatedly emphasising the need for a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England.  They argued that such a commissioner should have the power to conduct class investigations into any particular abuses that came to light, report them, and then ensure their recommendations are taken up.   

There is already a Commissioner for Older People in Wales, and, remarkably, something similar hasn’t yet been established for every nation of the UK.   

Why an Older People’s Commissioner for the UK?   

One key reason for this push is research showing that between one in three and one in two people experience age discrimination in the workplace.  However, this reality is not reflected in the number of cases brought to industrial tribunals.  The Centre for Ageing Better’s chief executive said the tribunal system is virtually inaccessible, takes two years to complete, and is prohibitively expensive.  Lawyers argue that tribunals are ineffective in addressing age discrimination, as they rely on a small number of cases that may fail or never come into the public domain.   

The Ageism & the Equalities and Human Rights Commission 

Fundamentally, in my view, this reflects a failure of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).  Why do we need a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England if the EHRC was already treating age as a protected characteristic, as it is legally required to do?  The EHRC should give ageism the same level of attention and energy it provides to other discrimination issues, such as race, gender, and sexual orientation.   

I understand the frustration of the Centre for Ageing Better’s chief executive.  We will continue to fail older people unless the Equalities and Human Rights Commission gives ageism equal weight.   

We have a Children’s Commissioner.  Indeed, the EHRC should also cover children.  If children are being discriminated against due to their age or not adequately served because of it, this should also fall under the remit of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.   

Why is ageism—the most universal form of discrimination—still not addressed by the EHRC to the same extent as other protected characteristics?   

Older People and Equalities Committee?

Age UK and the Centre for Ageing Better are doing excellent work.  However, it is astonishing that the Parliamentary Committee is called the “Women and Equalities Committee”.  This framing suggests that equality is exclusively focused on gender, reflecting the Government’s decision to have a “Women and Equalities Minister”.  Referring to it as the “Older People and Equalities Committee” would seem bizarre, yet this equivalence is ignored.  

Powers for the Commissioner 

There are also valuable lessons to be learnt from the Commissioner roles in Wales and Northern Ireland, particularly regarding how empowered they are to drive the agenda for older people and ageing.  For instance, the Welsh Commissioner has the following functions: 

  • Promote awareness of the rights and interests of older people in Wales 
  • Challenge discrimination against older people in Wales 
  • Encourage best practice in the treatment of older people in Wales 
  • Review the law affecting the interests of older people in Wales 

In an early report from the Commissioner ‘GP Services in Wales: The Perspective of Older People’, the recommendations were limited as follows: ‘Section 12 Guidance: Bodies subject to this Guidance issued under this section must have regard to the Guidance in discharging their functions.’  The guidance continues: ‘Health Boards may wish to consider the expected outcomes and explore the suggested scrutiny questions’ (emphasis added).  

By comparison, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission states, ‘We enforce the Equality Act 2010 and have unique powers to investigate when the law isn’t followed.  We’ve assisted or intervened in hundreds of cases of national importance, including holding organisations and the government to account.’ 

Responding to the Key Challenges 

In my view, we face two key challenges:

  • The first is to ensure the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) treats ageing as a protected characteristic with the same urgency and priority as other forms of discrimination. 
  • The second is establishing a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing with a compelling and robust remit capable of driving meaningful change.   

If the Commissioner for Older People and Ageing is going to be empowered appropriately, it should, in my view, have the power to enforce the Equality Act 2010 regarding age on behalf of the EHRC.  It should also be a UK-wide body, like the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which has a UK-wide remit. 

Until there is a commitment to fundamental reform, older people will continue to have their human rights abused and the protected characteristics of age ignored. 

Learn More

 

Charles McLachlan is the founder of FuturePerfect and on a mission to transform the future of work and business. The Portfolio Executive programme is a new initiative to help executives build a sustainable and impactful second-half-career. Creating an alternative future takes imagination, design, organisation and many other thinking skills. Charles is happy to lend them to you.