A NORTH Yorkshire MP will today seek to strike a blow for older people when he calls for an Age Equality Commission.

The bid for a body to tackle discrimination against the elderly is in a Private Member's Bill being introduced by Scarborough and Whitby Labour MP Lawrie Quinn.

His move has been prompted by his surprise over the number of people aged over 50 who have raised discrimination cases with him. These included people who lost their job or failed to get work, who had been denied health care, or who were refused financial services.

Even some organisations in the voluntary sector and in education are discriminating against the elderly, said Mr Quinn.

One of the cases he raised was that the Scout Association had a rule that anyone with a "warranted position" in the movement had to step down at 65.

He said: "More and more older people are coming to see me with examples of where they feel they have been discriminated against because of their age.

"It really is virtually every single sector of life. If people are fit and mentally astute and want to participate in these activities, there should not be any barriers because of their date of birth."

The Commission would advise on anti-discrimination laws, initiatives and policies. But John Taylor, of Norton, a well-known campaigner for equal rights for older people, said Mr Quinn should also address "ageism" in Government initiatives, saying it was very difficult for men aged 60 to 65 to get on the Welfare to Work New Deal scheme.

He said before his 65th birthday he was unable to find a place on the scheme, despite having no job, because he had been encouraged to sign off as unemployed some years earlier. "Whilst I won the winter fuel payment battle, I lost my main battle - getting a job under Welfare to Work New Deal," he added.

John Leeming, District Commissioner for the Scouts in the Ebor District in York, confirmed the over-65 rule, but said once over that age people could join the Scout Fellowship.