'Commissioner needed to tackle ageing issues'

BRITAIN has long been proud of our boast that everyone from all backgrounds, ages and histories should be treated fairly and decently.

- Cliff Hathaway MBE - Vice chair, North Staffs Pensioners' Convention

Sadly this concept appears to be slipping away when looking at recent examples, especially in the realms of health and social care provision and the everwidening gap between rich and poor.

Our latest government has clearly made positive progress, in just one short year, to significantly reduce NHS waiting lists and announced another reorganisation of NHS management to improve efficiency.

They introduced a new Employment Rights Bill banning exploitative zero hours contracts and ending fire and rehire practices to protect everyone, especially older workers.

This will allow people to continue to find work that suits them as the retirement age continues to rise.

Jobs involving hard physical work will be extremely hard to maintain in your late sixties!

Additionally a new Digital Inclusion Action Plan will support many older folk currently unable to keep up with the rapid pace of digital and technical advances made in just the last few years.

Recent reports show that a quarter of all those over 65 still don’t have access to the internet at home and only half of those over 75 have essential digital skills.