Written question asked by Baroness Featherstone (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 4 June 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 6 June 2008. It was answered by Barbara Follett (Labour) on Friday, 20 June 2008 on behalf of the Women and Equalities.

Consumers: Protection

Question: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will commission research into the incidence of discrimination in the supply of goods and services to children and young people under 18 years of age on the basis of their age; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: The consultation paper on proposals for the Equality Bill, A Framework for Fairness, signalled that the Government were considering the case for prohibiting age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services and that they considered any legislation should only apply to those aged 18 and over. Nevertheless, during the consultation process the Government commissioned the Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) to organise an event at which a cross-section of children discussed their own experiences of age discrimination. A report of the event is available on CRAE's website. In addition, a number of consultation responses raised the issue of age discrimination against those aged under 18. The Government will publish their response to the consultation shortly.

Secondary information