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Goods, facilities and services

Did you know you can be asked to leave a shop or be refused service in a café because you are too old? Did you also know that it is perfectly legal to be charged more for insurance or for a bank to refuse to lend you money? People of all ages should have the same right to goods, facilities and services.

Help the Aged are calling for enforceable set of laws that could dramatically improve older people’s inclusion in society and remove the barriers that stop their full participation. We want the Government to set up a system that would regulate and enforce these laws.

Research around the Disability Discrimination Act highlights the need for a stricter enforcement mechanism. Individual should not have to negotiate a complex and expensive legal process to ensure their rights are enforced.

Equality of opportunity for older people

Currently, all local authorities and public bodies are working to meet their legal obligation to consider how their work impacts on ethnic minorities, women, men and on disabled people. They can’t introduce a new scheme, build a new shopping centre or change a bus route without looking into the potential impact on these groups.

Help the Aged believe that older people's action plans that will help to ensure the safety and inclusion of older people and reduce the risk of marginalisation and exclusion. We would like to see this become a legal responsibility where older people themselves are directly involved in plans to promote equality of opportunity.