Age OK quotes

Carmel Giblin, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Accessibility, BSkyB, said:

"Age OK's accreditation is fantastic recognition of our accessible remote control, which is available to all of our nine million customers free of charge. The remote control was designed in partnership with Scope, Age Concern and Ricability to ensure that through good design, we created a unique, accessible product which could really make a difference. We believe in offering our customers the best possible choice of entertainment and with that goes a dedication to ensure it is accessible to everyone."

Tom Wright, Chief Executive of Age Concern and Help the Aged, said:

"We're delighted to award Sky the first Age OK product accreditation for its age-friendly Sky+ inclusive remote control, and would particularly like to congratulate the team behind its design.

"It's now time for other businesses to follow Sky's lead as, after all, they're missing a trick by not responding to the needs of older consumers, particularly in these difficult economic times. It's also key businesses understand that older people, who now account for a third of the population, may simply not use products or services that fail to take them into account.

"However, aside from the business opportunity, it's also imperative that the commercial sector starts preparing for the very necessary changes that will have to take place, across the whole of society, in order to properly meet the needs of our ageing population. The Age OK accreditation is a great starting point for those companies, like Sky, who want to be one step ahead of this inevitable trend."