National Equality Panel

1
National Equality Panel
National Equality Panel Stakeholder Event Older
People Andrew Harrop Head of Policy Age Concern
England
2
National Equality Panel

• Dimensions of inequality
• Age equality
• Inequality between people of the same age
• Experiences of inequality over an individuals
  life
• Fairness between generations

3
National Equality Panel

• Age equality 1 definition
• Based on Equal Human Dignity
• Equal citizenship dignity, choice, independence
• Equality of opportunity eg employment,
  education
• Equality of outcome where age is irrelevant
  where age is a factor minimise preventable
  differences
• Respect for difference across the lifecourse
  sometimes an asymmetric approach appropriate
  treatment of different age cohorts / individual
  needs

4
National Equality Panel

• Age equality 2 drivers
• Longevity individual and collective ignorance
• Ageing
• Biological ageing eg a higher risk of
  ill-health
• Social ageing institutions and expectations
• Cohort effects lifetime opportunities
  determined by generational norms
• Ageism
• external restricts opportunities
• internal speeds up ageing

5
National Equality Panel

• Age equality 3 some examples
• Income
• long-term poverty (twice as high)
• Health
• preventable differences (social determinants)
• public health policy (inactivity grief
  isolation malnutrition)
• Public services
• Explicit discrimination (social care mental
  health)
• Hidden inequality (clinical decisions)
• Failure to respond to difference
  (employment/skills)
• Dignity (treatment in institutions)

6
National Equality Panel

• Age equality 3 evidence
• Employment (effects of poor health low skills
  attitudes discrimination including forced
  retirement)
• Number wanting work (not unemployed)
• Age pay gaps
• Skills
• Qualifications
• Recent participation
• Social exclusion
• Incidence rises with age
• Nature changes (out of sight)

7
National Equality Panel

• Inequalities between older people
• Income similar distribution to rest of
  population
• Assets wealth inequality peaks in 50/60s
• Health working class in 50s professional in
  70s
• Public services inverse care law
• Employment and skills risk of polarisation?
• Social exclusion by 80 more people suffering,
  so less highly concentrated

8
National Equality Panel

• Inequality across the life course
• New programme with EHRC Just Ageing? Fairness,
  equality and the life course
• Trigger points and risk factors caring,
  retirement, bereavement
• I havent changed
• people treat me differently (ageism)
• society has changed (technology complexity)
• I have changed
• effects of ageing (preventable or otherwise) mean
  excluded by society, services

9
National Equality Panel

• Equity between generations
• Each generation more affluent than the last
  share economic and social progress with whole of
  society (this is still true!!)
• Achieve reasonable lifetime balance of
  contribution and receipt for each generation
• Longer life expectancy working cohorts
  supporting longer retirements, but will live even
  longer themselves

10
National Equality Panel
National Equality Panel Stakeholder
Event Andrew Harrop Head of Policy Age Concern
England 020 8765 7547 andrew.harrop_at_ace.org.uk