The Department for Work and Pensions announces a new way of measuring older people’s quality of life.  The indicator uses a set of fifteen goods, services and experiences which are judged to be the best discriminators of deprivation – such as whether someone can replace a cooker, take a holiday away from home or go out socially at least once a month. The full selection of items was arrived at following independent academic research and involved engaging with older people about the items and way in which the questions were asked.