From: Ad 

Rich Gauszka wrote:
> First propose the elderly, then if you get away with that go on to
> children and finally the adult population?
>

It wasn't proposed for "the elderly" but for the "elderly
& demented".

At present they have to be locked in a nursing/care home as otherwise
they're off into traffic or they wander till they collapse etc.

However I do feel that this should be a sauce for the goose, i.e. all
ministers should be tagged.

Adam

> http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2061007,00.html
>
> The science minister, Malcolm Wicks, today defended his suggestion to
> track elderly people with satellite-monitored tags, but said the
> government has no concrete plans to pursue the idea.
>
> Mr Wicks said satellites should be used to do more than monitor crops,
> track goods and help drivers navigate. "Should we not also use them for
> things which are socially more important? People wander out of care
> homes and go down to the beach, or they get lost. With more and more
> extended families, we have these things happen. This is a realistic
> social concern. People may want this for a family member, and the family
> member may think it is appropriate," he said.
>
> He told Guardian Unlimited the aim of his idea was "not to be Big
> Brother-ish or tag people like criminals, but to bring some security,
> safety, dignity and independence to a frail group of people".
>
> Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil liberties campaign group Liberty,
> raised concerns about "gimmicks" to replace expensive care.
"A debate
> about better care for the elderly is a good thing but technical gimmicks
> often provide cheap and quick fixes rather than dignified and possibly
> expensive care," she said.
>
> There are about 700,000 people in the UK with dementia, a figure set to
> rise to more than a million within 20 years and to 1.7m by 2050.
> Age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's and other dementias are
> predicted to become an increasing burden for health services and home
> carers.

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5