Burstow launches Bill to tackle Elder Abuse as report reveals "devastating" scale of problem

9.30.00am GMT Thu 14th Jun 2007

Paul Burstow MP, Chair of the All Party Group on Older people, has published a bill to create statutory protections for vulnerable older people, as a damning report commissioned by Comic Relief reveals that nearly 350,000 people aged over 65 have been the victims of abuse in the community.

Mr Burstow's Protection of Adults in Care (Prevention of Harm and Exploitation) Bill confers powers and duties on Local Authorities for the protection of vulnerable adults. It includes a duty on authorities to investigate where they have reason to believe that abuse is taking place, supported by powers to assess the problem and, where necessary, impose protection orders to safeguard those at risk. This is Mr Burstow's second attempt to bring such powers on to the statute books after his Care of Older People (Human Rights) Bill ran out of time in the last parliamentary session.

Mr Burstow's Bill comes as Comic Relief publishes the findings of a joint study conducted with the government into the prevalence of elder abuse. The study found 342,000 people had been the victims of some form of abuse, ranging from financial fraud to emotional abuse and even assault. It found 105,000 people who had suffered 10 or more separate instances of neglect. Alarmingly, the study excludes care home residents and dementia sufferers living in the community - both particularly vulnerable groups.

In addition to the Bill, Mr Burstow, together with Liberal Democrat Older People's Spokesperson Sandra Gidley, will table an Early Day Motion condemning the report's findings and calling on the government to introduce legal protections for older people. The motion will be tabled the day before World Elder Abuse day - a day promoted by Action on Elder Abuse to raise awareness of the problem - on Friday 15th June.

Commenting on the news, Paul Burstow MP, Chair of the All Party Group on Older People said:

"This report is a damning and devastating indictment of a failing system of protection for vulnerable adults."

"Yet it is only the tip of the iceberg - without information on abuse of dementia sufferers and people in care, we can only speculate about the true scale of the problem."

"However, one thing is all too clear - despite warm words from Ministers, abuse of vulnerable older people is a widespread, serious and oft-neglected problem."

"With such clear evidence, it is time for the government to stop dithering and start legislating."

"We urgently need to move from a system of voluntary guidance to one with legal protections for vulnerable older people."