Latest news with #OAPs
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Older people sick of lonely and vulnerable stereotype - and feel 'bombarded' by TV ads for funerals, study finds
Older people feel they are 'bombarded' by adverts for funeral services, care homes and mobility aids, a new study by the advertising watchdog has found. The elderly are fed up with being 'reduced to outdated stereotypes' depicting them as lonely and vulnerable in TV ads, according to the poll by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). More than a third of the UK population believe that older people are 'negatively stereotyped' in ads which depict them as 'lonely, purposeless or powerless'. And Brits are concerned about how ads are targeted at them, with people aged 55 and over feeling 'bombarded' by promotions for 'funeral or cremation services, life insurance and care homes', especially during daytime television. Beauty ads that suggest people have to 'fight' ageing were singled out by the public as 'potentially harmful', in particular for the 'harm to the self-esteem of women of all ages' they can cause, the poll of more than 4,000 Uk adults found. One male respondent aged between 65 and 74 told researchers: 'I think [ads about looking young] are very patronising. It's saying that you should admire to look young when frankly, I embrace my wrinkles and bald head.' People of all ages told researchers they wanted to see more 'authentic and realistic' portrayals of older people, avoiding depictions of OAPs 'always being wealthy or grumpy', for example. The study says: 'While Britain may have an ageing population, growing older today looks very different from a generation or two ago. 'Older people are not only living longer, but they're also continuing to lead full, active lives, contributing to workplaces, families, communities, and the economy for longer. 'But people in our study told us that too often, advertising paints a very different and outdated picture.' The ASA has previously banned ads that were 'likely to cause offence on the grounds of age' - including a billboard ad for electronic cigarettes depicting an older woman and younger man that suggested this was socially unacceptable. However the independent body, which regulates all forms of advertising in the UK, said that while it was not currently proposing new rules, it had carried out the research to better inform businesses of public opinion around portrayals of ageing. Kam Atwal, research lead at the ASA, said: 'As a society, we're living longer, richer, and more varied lives. Our research reveals that some of today's portrayals of older people in advertising are not being received positively, and that the public want ads to better reflect the varied lives older people lead today.'
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
SNP ‘slap in the face' to pensioners after scrapping universal winter fuel payment plan
SNP ministers have been accused of delivering a 'slap in the face' to Scottish pensioners after scrapping plans to give them a winter fuel payment. John Swinney, the First Minister, had promised that every pensioner would receive at least £100 regardless of their income, arguing that the benefit should be universal. But the SNP Government announced it had ripped up the plan and only pensioners with income of less than £35,000 would receive help. OAPs with higher incomes will still receive the payment, but will have to hand back the sum via their tax return or PAYE. Less well-off pensioners will get £203.40 if they are aged under 80, and £305.10 if they are older – marginally higher amounts than the £200 and £300 paid in England and Wales. The announcement came only weeks after Mr Swinney argued that the winter fuel payment should be restored to 'all pensioner households'. Speaking ahead of a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer on May 23, he called for a 'national mission' to raise living standards and a 'restoration' of the benefit 'so all pensioners get a payment'. 'Policy abandoned in a heartbeat' Mr Swinney's U-turn means eligibility for the benefit in Scotland is now the same as south of the border, where the UK Government has already announced a £35,000 income threshold. Control over the winter fuel payment, however, is devolved to the Scottish Government, meaning Mr Swinney had the power to introduce a universal benefit instead. More than 720,000 pensioners are expected to receive the payment, but Age Scotland, a charity for the elderly, estimated that 160,000 would miss out. Liz Smith, the Scottish Tories' shadow social security secretary, said: ' The SNP, like Labour, shamefully betrayed pensioners by axing universal winter fuel payments, before being forced into a humiliating climbdown by the public outcry. 'But this latest announcement means that hundreds of thousands of Scots will not have the payment even partially restored – despite John Swinney's promise that they would. This latest slap in the face will not be forgotten or forgiven by the pensioners affected.' Adam Stachura, policy director at Age Scotland, said: 'The policy making on this payment has been guddled, lacked consultation, and politically charged throughout. 'While this is partly to do with the speed of the UK Government's original change and subsequent U-turn, the Scottish Government's repeated commitment to universality and its benefits has been abandoned in a heartbeat.' He also argued that the Scottish payment being £3 or £5 higher than in England was 'pretty meek', as the colder climate north of the border meant energy bills were higher. Shirley-Anne Somerville, the SNP's Social Justice Secretary, said: 'Following careful consideration of the options available, the Scottish Government will mirror the approach taken by the UK Government. We will bring forward regulations to ensure that, from this winter onwards, all pensioners will receive either £203.40 or £305.10 per household, depending on age. 'We are in discussion with the UK Government to extend the proposed arrangements in England and Wales to recover payments from those pensioners with an individual income of more than £35,000 through the tax system. The intention is that the payment will be recovered automatically, and pensioners will not need to register with HMRC for this or take any further action.' UK Government's major U-turn The Treasury has said that the 'vast majority' of pensioners south of the border with income over £35,000 will have the benefit automatically clawed back through PAYE, while a minority will have to fill out a self-assessment tax return. The Labour Government announced last July the introduction of a means-tested cap to the payment for pensioners in England and Wales. This meant that millions of OAPs were no longer eligible. Although control over the benefit is devolved, Mr Swinney argued that he had no choice but to follow suit as the cut led to a £147 million reduction in the SNP Government's funding through the Barnett formula. The payment of between £100 and £300 only went to 130,000 Scottish OAPs in receipt of pension credit and other means-tested benefits last winter – 900,000 fewer than the previous year. Mr Swinney then used the record Budget settlement the SNP Government received from Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, to announce that all pensioners would receive a payment of at least £100 ahead of the winter. In a major U-turn last week, Ms Reeves said OAPs in England and Wales with an income below £35,000 per year would receive a higher sum. The Chancellor announced that households with a pensioner aged under 80 would get £200, while those with someone over 80 would get £300. However, those with an income of more than £35,000 would receive nothing. The announcement prompted Labour to demand that Mr Swinney review his plan to ensure that 'no struggling Scottish pensioners will be left out of pocket'. On Monday, the First Minister announced that Scottish pensioners would be no worse off than their English counterparts but refused to repeat his pledge that everyone would get at least £100.
The National
2 days ago
- Health
- The National
Time for a rethink about what the NHS is able to provide
I agree that we need to have a rethink about what the NHS and healthcare as a whole should do. We need to change the emphasis from treatment to cure, from prescriptions to prevention. READ MORE: NHS Grampian to scrap free nappies for newborns in bid to save £23m Using myself as an example, I have been a type-2 diabetic for almost 20 years. First I was prescribed Metformin, the dose of which was gradually ramped up, then another drug was added, then another, then another so that I almost rattle when I walk. 20 years ago, no-one said: 'Go on this diet and come back in six months, fatty'. Nobody said: 'I wonder why his pancreas suddenly stopped working properly'. Nobody ever looks at how my body is working in any detail; everyone looks at their own speciality. If they had looked at me properly 10 years ago when treating me for something trivial, they would have seen the early pathognomonic signs of the life-threatening condition I now am being treated for. I wouldn't have been on unnecessary anti-coagulants for years if an ECG recording had been examined by a cardiologist rather than someone trialling new equipment. I have had the ridiculous situation where my GP takes blood from me to check on one thing and the hospital consultant repeats the process two days later to look at another factor. READ MORE: Stephen Flynn clashes with Labour MP in BBC interview: 'Don't talk over me' Medicine and surgery have changed dramatically since the NHS was created. We need to start from scratch and decide what we can afford to do. Life is unfair, and unless the structure of society is radically changed, the majority of us can never have the same options or opportunities that are available to the top 1%. We need more staff and more funding. First of all, we need to train enough staff here in the UK rather than relying on 25% of the staff coming from overseas. Those who gain their initial degrees in Scotland and are trained by the NHS should work full-time in the NHS and the private sector should train its own staff. We need more time spent on initial consultations; regular health MOTs where every common condition that could affect a patient of that age is assessed. We need to stop providing treatments that modern medicine can do but are the 'icing on the cake'. Would society collapse if assisted reproduction wasn't available on the NHS? Should we offer bariatric surgery? I hate to say, it but should we treat OAPs like me if we can't be discharged home to look after ourselves, if the treatment simply delays the inevitable and gives no quality of life? The hospital service in Scotland will definitely collapse if 10% or more of the available beds continue to be taken up by those who do not require further inpatient treatment but just have nowhere to go. If Obergruppenfuhrer Starmer can suddenly decide to double the UK defence budget to keep Nato happy, why can't he do the same for the NHS and keep us all happy? David J Crawford Glasgow MAYBE Norman Robertson (Letters, June 17) missed the sardonic nature of my letter of June 16, but at no point did I single out Israel alone. I noted that each country was equally unstable. I also made clear Netanyahu faced internal opposition to his war from within Israel. What I find interesting is that while Israel is reported on as being a 'state' by UK media, Iran is always referred to as a 'regime'; in fact the orange king of the USA of talks of Iran in terms of a 'regime change' being needed. READ MORE: Angela Rayner does not rule out following US into war with Iran The reality is that without USA defence funding and the backing of Zionist billionaires, Israel is busted. Without a war, Netanyahu is heading for criminal fines and possible imprisonment in Israel, all before the ICC gets hold of him for war crimes in Gaza. The only one who gains from further escalation in the Middle East is Netanyahu. At no time in recent history has bombing of cities changed anyone's minds. The myth of precision bombing still leaves a lot of collateral damage. Ballistic missiles can be off their aiming point from between 200 to 500 metres, no matter their manufacturer's claims. We are now at Sarajevo in 1914 and, courtesy of Mr Starmer getting a 'trade deal' with the orange king, the UK is already being sucked into the active defence of Israel whether any voter in the UK wishes it or not, with the RAF spy plane and increased Typhoon deployment to Cyprus. The Royal Navy is already active in the Red Sea and Hormuz Strait, shooting down missiles fired from Yemen while monitoring Iranian missile launches for the US and Israeli military. READ MORE: Keir Starmer to chair emergency Cobra meeting on Middle East How far away is the UK from putting boots on the ground on behalf of the regime in Israel? I have seen 'active service', suffered having friends killed and maimed, and like many I would say that no matter how the politicians polish this particular turd, it always ends up in some form of negotiation or defeat, which raises the question 'why did we fight in the first place?' Neither Iran nor Israel are worth the death of a single UK serviceman or woman, Mr Robertson, it is as simple as that, no matter who hit who first. We are not talking about a 'jackets aff' fight at the bike sheds here, we are looking at a tipping point for World War Three. Peter Thomson Kirkcudbright
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Good news for hundreds of Inverclyde pensioners after winter fuel payment pledge
NO pensioner in Inverclyde will receive a winter fuel payment less than those now to be provided to OAPs in England and Wales, according to the First Minister. John Swinney made the announcement on Monday following a U-turn by the UK Government over the payments. Labour's Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said last year that the winter fuel payment would no longer be something every pensioner would be entitled to. That prompted the SNP to step in and say it would provide a payment of at least £100 to all pensioner households in Scotland in mitigation. But in a major policy change, Ms Reeves announced last week that everyone over the state pension age in England and Wales will receive a winter fuel payment of at least £200, as long as they have an income of not more than £35,000 a year – with the payment rising to £300 for those aged over 80. John Swinney made the pledge during a speech in Glasgow on Monday. (Image: PA) That prompted calls from Labour politicians, including West Scotland regional MSP and Inverclyde representative Neil Bibby, for the Scottish Government to match the pledge. In his speech in Glasgow on Monday, Mr Swinney said that no Scottish pensioner "will receive less than they would under the new UK scheme", without giving further details. Plans to introduce a new universal benefit in Scotland from this September were put on hold after the Chancellor's announcement last July that winter fuel payments were to become means-tested, with only those receiving Pension Credit or certain other benefits remaining eligible. The latest Tele news headlines:In November, councillors in Inverclyde approved plans to spend £600,000 on helping older people who were no longer eligible for the winter fuel payment following Ms Reeves' announcement last summer. The council's move saw pensioners who are no longer eligible for the benefit receive £200 credit on their council tax account. A report by council officials estimated that the move would help around 1,300 low-income households across Inverclyde. The step taken in Inverclyde was only intended as a one-year plan while the authority awaited further news on the Scottish Government's plans for the winter of 2025-26. The UK Government's U-turn on winter fuel payments has been followed by a pledge from John Swinney that the Scottish Government will keep pace with the financial support to be provided to older people in England and Wales. (Image: Newsquest) Adam Stachura, associate director of policy, communications and external affairs at Age Scotland, said: "We've been really concerned that for hundreds of thousands of Scottish pensioners on low and modest incomes, living in fuel poverty and not claiming or entitled to Pension Credit, that the £100 Pension Age Winter Heating Payment just wouldn't be enough. It is good news that the Scottish Government have now also recognised that. "We've asked the First Minster to commit to using every penny of the new funding to boost the energy support payment for pensioners in Scotland, rather than covering what they have already budgeted for. "The money is now there to not only match what pensioners in England and Wales, but offer even more to those on the lowest incomes, and help drive down the astronomically high levels of fuel poverty and financial insecurity faced by pensioners in Scotland.'
Scottish Sun
11-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Chancellor Rachel Reeves unleashes eye-watering borrowing spree in do-or-die bid to drive growth
RACHEL Reeves was yesterday branded a 'spend now, tax later' Chancellor after unleashing an eye-watering borrowing spree in a do-or-die bid to drive growth. Ms Reeves put £113billion on the country's credit card to fund 'national renewal' projects — with defence and the NHS taking the lion's share of the budget uplifts. 3 Rachel Reeves was branded a 'spend now, tax later' Chancellor Credit: Simon Walker / HM Treasury 3 The Chancellor unleashing an eye-watering borrowing spree in a do-or-die bid to drive growth Credit: AFP She was accused of digging the 'black hole' in public finances Labour claimed to have inherited into a 'crater into which public confidence is plunging'. Experts said her next Budget may have to raise up to £23billion to keep to her fiscal rules amid economic slowdown and uncertainty over US tariffs. It sparked fears of tax rises in autumn to stop UK debt worsening and spooking money markets. Ms Reeves came out fighting after a humiliating 48 hours in which she U-turned on winter fuel cash for millions of OAPs. She unveiled spending plans for the next three years, calling them 'Labour choices' in the hope of shoring up support in the party's heartlands amid the threat of Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said she had a 'Corbynist catalogue' of tax rises to flick through to fund her pledges — a reference to a secret memo Deputy PM Angela Rayner sent her suggesting ways to raise cash. He called her a 'tinfoil Chancellor, flimsy and ready to fold in the face of the slightest pressure' as she set out her plans. He said: 'This is the spend now, tax later review, because the Chancellor knows she will need to come back here in the autumn with yet more taxes and a cruel summer of speculation awaits. 'How can we possibly take this Chancellor seriously after the chaos of the last 12 months?' Mr Reeves insisted later that no tax rises would be needed to pay for her commitments. Top 5 takeaways from Spending review She said: 'Every penny is funded through the tax increases and changes to the fiscal rules that we set out last autumn.' The review was the first since 2007 to go through spending 'line by line', it was claimed. The health department is expected to make £9billion in efficiency savings by 2028-29, and the defence budget £905million. The Chancellor told MPs: 'I've made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. 3 'In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of pessimism, division and defeatism, I choose national renewal. 'Reforms that will make public services more efficient, more productive and more focused on the user. I have been relentless in driving out inefficiencies. 'I will be ruthless in calling out waste with every penny being reinvested into public services.' She will hope the cash injections will ease relationships with Labour backbenchers concerned at welfare cuts. A vote on measures is planned for next month. The biggest winner in the review was the NHS, which gets a three per cent budget rise in England over the next three years, taking its funding to £226billion. Financial cushion The defence budget will go up by 2.6 per cent but pressure is mounting on ministers to raise it again to 3.5 per cent by 2035. The vow to build 1.5 million homes in the next five years was boosted with confirmation an average of £3.9billion will be go on social and affordable housing in the next decade. Ed Miliband's energy department gets a 16 per cent real-terms rise with £14.2billion extra going on the Sizewell C nuclear plant. Families and OAPs could save £600 a year on bills in more energy-efficient homes, she said. A pledge to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029 will save £1billion a year, she insisted. The police will get an above-inflation increase but top cops have warned of 'incredibly challenging' budgets following tense talks between the Chancellor and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Surrey Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said the money will 'fall far short' of that needed to fund Government ambitions and maintain the existing workforce. He said the increase 'will cover little more than annual inflationary pay increases'. The Chancellor inherited, supposedly, a black hole and she has dug a crater into which public confidence is plunging. Richard Tice Ms Reeves aims to meet her fiscal rule of balancing day-to-day spending with revenues by 2029-30 and plans to reduce the UK's debt. Her financial cushion is just less than £10billion. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice said public spending was 'completely out of control'. He said: 'The Chancellor inherited, supposedly, a black hole and she has dug a crater into which public confidence is plunging.' Economist Ruth Gregory, of Capital Economics, said Ms Reeves may need to find an extra £13billion to £23billion in autumn's Budget 'simply to maintain her current buffer against the fiscal rules'. Stephen Millard, interim director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said it is now 'almost inevitable' that if she sticks to her rules, she will have to raise taxes this year. Rain Newton-Smith, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, warned that the Government cannot target business again following its £25billion raid at the last Budget. She said: 'We will hold the Chancellor to account that she won't come back for tax rises on business . . . because I don't think business can shoulder any more. 'The Prime Minister himself has said you cannot tax your way to growth. "So I think it's critical that we don't see rises like that on business because they are the ones that need to invest to deliver the growth mission.'
