By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 06:42 EST, 25 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:55 EST, 25 February 2013 . Britain is ‘worryingly underprepared’ for a dramatically ageing population, with 8million people expected to live to more than 100. The National Health Service, care system and public services face major challenges to deal with sharp rises in the number of older people, a Lords committee will warn next month. An inquiry into government plans to cope with more over-65s has been warned by a string of experts about the scale of the challenge, and shortcomings in the UK’s ability to react. Experts warn older people get worse care than younger patients in the NHS . The Lords committee on Public Service and Demographic Change has been repeatedly warned that the Government has ‘not done enough to react to the challenge and ensure public services are organised in a robust and efficient way’. By 2030 there will be 50 per cent more people over-65s, and the number of 85-year-olds will have doubled. Half of babies born after 2007 will live beyond 103, Professor Sarah Harper from the University of Oxford said. ‘The combination of a bulge in our population taking advantage of increases in life expectancy means that I think 8 million people currently will make it to a century,’ she told the committee. ‘One of the things we did at Oxford was do some simple modelling to extrapolate it to Europe, which said there will be 127 million people who are going to make it to 100 throughout the EU.’ Official projections for the number of centenarians in the UK shows the number could reach 550,000 by 2065 . The number of people alive who could expect to see their 100th birthday, by age in 2010 . In 1961 in the UK there were 600 people aged 100 or over.  There are now estimated to be 14,500 centenarians, the committee was told. By 2060 the number could hit 456,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. Life expectation at birth is increasing by more than two months every year, but experts disagree about whether the trend will continue and how old humans could eventually live for. The committee is due to meet tomorrow to discuss its final report. Labour peer Lord Filkin, chairman of the committee, has warned Britain appears unprepared to deal with an ageing population . But speaking before taking evidence from ministers last month, committee chairman Lord Filkin said: ‘Our inquiry is the first by Parliament to assess if our society, our policies and our public services are really ready for ageing. ‘The evidence we have received so far suggests that we are worryingly underprepared. ‘Across diverse areas of public service provision, from health and social care to housing and pension arrangements, witness after witness has told the Committee that the Government have not done enough to react to the challenge and ensure public services are organised in a robust and efficient way.’ The committee has been told that 29 per cent of people admitted to hospital should have been treated elsewhere, adding to costs for the NHS. Lord Filkin warns that such failures will be ‘simply unaffordable’ in the future. NHS officials also warned that older people get worse treatment than younger patients. Professor David Oliver, a consultant physician who is the Department of Health's national clinical director for older people services, said: . 'We know that older people—especially older people with complex needs or frailty—are systematically getting a worse deal than younger people. 'They are getting worse levels of treatment and assessment than younger people.' He added: 'Older people are not a minority.  They are now accounting for the biggest proportion of spending in the NHS, so the idea that they should be disadvantaged is perplexing.'
Experts warn Lords inquiry that not enough is being done to cope with ageing population .
Older people receive worse NHS treatment than younger patients .
Half of babies born since 2003 expected to live to 103 .
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 06:42 EST, 25 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:55 EST, 25 February 2013 . Britain is ‘worryingly underprepared’ for a dramatically ageing population, with 8million people expected to live to more than 100. The National Health Service, care system and public services face major challenges to deal with sharp rises in the number of older people, a Lords committee will warn next month. An inquiry into government plans to cope with more over-65s has been warned by a string of experts about the scale of the challenge, and shortcomings in the UK’s ability to react. Experts warn older people get worse care than younger patients in the NHS . The Lords committee on Public Service and Demographic Change has been repeatedly warned that the Government has ‘not done enough to react to the challenge and ensure public services are organised in a robust and efficient way’. By 2030 there will be 50 per cent more people over-65s, and the number of 85-year-olds will have doubled. Half of babies born after 2007 will live beyond 103, Professor Sarah Harper from the University of Oxford said. ‘The combination of a bulge in our population taking advantage of increases in life expectancy means that I think 8 million people currently will make it to a century,’ she told the committee. ‘One of the things we did at Oxford was do some simple modelling to extrapolate it to Europe, which said there will be 127 million people who are going to make it to 100 throughout the EU.’ Official projections for the number of centenarians in the UK shows the number could reach 550,000 by 2065 . The number of people alive who could expect to see their 100th birthday, by age in 2010 . In 1961 in the UK there were 600 people aged 100 or over.  There are now estimated to be 14,500 centenarians, the committee was told. By 2060 the number could hit 456,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. Life expectation at birth is increasing by more than two months every year, but experts disagree about whether the trend will continue and how old humans could eventually live for. The committee is due to meet tomorrow to discuss its final report. Labour peer Lord Filkin, chairman of the committee, has warned Britain appears unprepared to deal with an ageing population . But speaking before taking evidence from ministers last month, committee chairman Lord Filkin said: ‘Our inquiry is the first by Parliament to assess if our society, our policies and our public services are really ready for ageing. ‘The evidence we have received so far suggests that we are worryingly underprepared. ‘Across diverse areas of public service provision, from health and social care to housing and pension arrangements, witness after witness has told the Committee that the Government have not done enough to react to the challenge and ensure public services are organised in a robust and efficient way.’ The committee has been told that 29 per cent of people admitted to hospital should have been treated elsewhere, adding to costs for the NHS. Lord Filkin warns that such failures will be ‘simply unaffordable’ in the future. NHS officials also warned that older people get worse treatment than younger patients. Professor David Oliver, a consultant physician who is the Department of Health's national clinical director for older people services, said: . 'We know that older people—especially older people with complex needs or frailty—are systematically getting a worse deal than younger people. 'They are getting worse levels of treatment and assessment than younger people.' He added: 'Older people are not a minority.  They are now accounting for the biggest proportion of spending in the NHS, so the idea that they should be disadvantaged is perplexing.'
ageing population, with 8million people expected to react. Experts warn older people get worse Government has ‘not done enough to react to the Half of babies born after 2007 will live beyond people get worse treatment than younger patients.