Goods and services age discrimination ban delayed

The UK Government has announced it is to delay a decision on implementation of its proposed ban on age discrimination in the provision of services and public functions, which it had intended bringing into force in April 2012.

This means that any ban is now unlikely to come into effect before October 2012 at the earliest.

Westminster says that Ministers are still considering the scope for and content of exceptions from the ban, in the light of responses to the consultation in 2011 and that it is preferable to take a little more time both to get the decision right and to give businesses and others affected more time to prepare and adjust as necessary.

Age Scotland spokesman Lindsay Scott says: "In certain circumstances, age-based treatment is justified or even beneficial, but in the provision of insurance for example, it is one outstanding area in which older people often get a raw deal just because of their age.

"However, because of the complexity of the issue and the large variety of responses, it is probably better to take the time to ensure that it is fit for purpose when it becomes law."

The Equality Act 2010 would have banned unjustifiable age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services, including insurance as of April 2012, although the Government Equalities Office (GEO) had confirmed that there would be a specific exception for the provision of financial services. On 3rd March 2011, it published a consultation on the scope of that extension. 

But only three days earlier, the European Court of Justice decided that a very similar exception on the use of gender in insurance was incompatible with the fundamental principle of equality. The court ruled that the provision in the EU Gender Directive allowing the exception would become invalid from 21st December 2012.

Age discrimination in the provision of services is not prohibited under EU law, but a draft Equal Treatment Directive under consideration by the European Council would introduce just such a ban, subject to an insurance opt-out in similar terms to the gender exception.