From: Rich Gauszka 

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

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.

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