The government has tried to answer the age old question about when youth, middle age and old age start and end.

The last is easy to answer, as presumably old age ends with someone’s life, but responses to the other questions is less clear and very much depends on – wait for it… how old you are.

The Department of Work and Pensions is looking at attitudes to age – and concludes age discrimination is ‘deep rooted’ in society.

The report comes hot on the heels of similar research by the European Union as governments across the EU look at way to try and fund retirement for a population with more older people living for longer.

The survey Attitudes to Age in Britain revealed on average, old age starts at 59 in Britain, while youth ends at 41.

The figure ranges from those aged 25 or under believing youth ends at 32 and old age begins at 54, while those over over 80 believe that youth ends at 52 while old age starts at 68.

Pensions minister Steve Webb is urging everyone to change their attitude to aging.

“The idea that we are ‘old’ at 59 belongs in the era of Downton Abbey – not in 2012,” he said.

“People are living longer, working longer and contributing more in their later lives. This is great news and it is important that our perceptions of age keep up with the reality of our increasing longevity.”

The survey findings showed one in three people experienced some form age discrimination in the past year.

One in seven people feel working for a boss in their 70s is “unacceptable”, while just one in 20 felt the same about a boss in their 30s.

The DWP said that an ageing population presents a number of challenges to society, especially social exclusion, that leaves older people feeling “isolated and excluded from opportunities”.

The Equality Act is a waste of money and has no tangible benefit other than giving some do-gooders a misplaced feeling of well-being, claims a think-tank.

The hard-nosed comments are from a report in to the impact of the law by social and religious commentator Civitas.

In the report, Assessing The Damage, by Nigel Williams, argues that efforts to protect the disadvantaged from discrimination in the workplace saving the government up to £85 million a year are ‘spurious’ and will probably lead to more job losses.

The report is part of the group’s continuing campaign against the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

In August, another report complained the EHRC ‘contributed little to meaningful equality.’

In the latest report, Civitas explains that putting a value on the law is inappropriate as the outcome is an idealogical gain rather as to meet the goal, the EHRC would have to prove equality had improved.

“The claims for the 2010 Equality Act are immense. There are a few initial costs, followed by massive annual gains; social evils may be reduced while contributing to the economy at the same time. With a little scrutiny, however, the balance of benefits over costs vanishes very rapidly,” says the report.

“No money is produced or saved. The estimate is just of the feeling of well-being coming from a belief that differences between people have been reduced. The value is ideological, nothing more.”

The report goes on to argue that the cost savings are ‘illusory’ as are contestable, but the costs are real and likely to be larger than the Equality Act Impact Assessment estimates.

Two examples are given –

• That the impact assessment costs the time on the assumption staff would take only eight work-hours at each small and medium-sized business to read, digest and disseminate 800 pages of guidance

• Costs of adapting housing for the disabled could be zero, while the benefits add up to £10 million. This assumes that no extra work at all can still produce substantially improved accommodation.

“The annual consequences of this legislation will serve not to pay back the costs, but to add to them. The ideological benefits of the Equality Act are debatable at best. The financial benefits simply do not exist,” says the report.

This article  is filed under: Gender, marital status Discrimination, Diversity, Housing, Leadership, Minorities, women, mothers faimly work-life balance

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