The big debate has begun. How will an ageing Britain cope? The T&A's Who's Counting? columnist Mike Priestley looks at the issues on a disturbing agenda.

'Think ahead! Your country needs your brain power." That's the urgent message which has gone out to the British people with the launch of a massive campaign to focus our collective minds on what threatens to be one of the biggest problems at the start of the new millennium: how to cope with an ageing population.

According to those who have already gazed into the crystal ball and staggered back horrified, we are up against a "demographic timebomb" which could leave millions of people living on the breadline.

Future pensioners could find themselves barely able to eat on the cash available to them as pension funds dry up. There could be a drastic shortage of suitable housing. Health care could well be rationed. Taxes might be sky high.

It is clearly a potentially catastrophic situation which needs very serious forward planning. And as it's likely to affect us all, whatever age we might be now, it's something we should all be talking about.

Which is why the Debate of the Age was launched yesterday, billed as the biggest-ever public consultation exercise. The aim of the two-year nationwide campaign is to get 30 million people thinking and talking. Everyone in Britain will be asked to respond to questionnaires or call Freephone numbers to give their views on such matters of concern as welfare, health-care, education, the future of the family and pensions.

There will be "citizens' juries" of 16 people who will meet monthly at various centres around the country to take evidence from expert witnesses and reach a verdict on what needs to be done.

Larger "citizens' forums" of up to 250 people will debate ethical and political dilemmas faced by the country. And the culmination of it all will be a grand-scale "People's Congress" to be held early in 2000 to make formal recommendations to the Government.

"This is not only about how we provide for the elderly but also what sort of old age we want ourselves," said Rabbi Julia Neuberger, who is heading one of the five study groups tackling specific aspects of the age issue. "If we don't address these issues now we will have an elderly population increasingly isolated and poorly off, and a younger generation looking to their old age with dread."

Kate Cutler, Debate of the Age spokesman, reinforced that message. "The need for action is urgent. Without a clear and precise programme to tackle this demographic timebomb we will face serious problems in the 21st century. The debate is above all about preparation. We are saying to people: look, these are the problems. What should we do about it?"

So what sort of things should we be talking about among ourselves? The official study groups have already identified many of the key issues which need to be confronted. Some of them threaten to pose very uncomfortable dilemmas.

What sort of long-term care will people need as they grow older, and how will it be paid for? Will health care and treatment have to be rationed according to age and status? How can people be best encouraged to adopt healthier lifestyles?

How can attitudes be altered so that older people are valued more? How can the generations be better integrated? Should we move more swiftly towards an acceptance of euthanasia?

What work will people do, as new technology and constant pressure on productivity lead to fewer and fewer full-time jobs? Is it right to outlaw age discrimination in the jobs market so that people can work on while younger people go jobless? Can pension funds continue to support the large numbers of people who take early retirement?

What sort of houses should we be building to enable people to stay in their own homes for longer? How long should people be allowed to go on driving, given the increasing congestion on the roads? And if we are going to impose an upper age limit on drivers, how much are we prepared to spend on public transport to enable older people to get about?

Above all, though, is how old age is going to be paid for. Should it be down to the State? Or, as seems more and more likely, will it be up to individuals to make their own provision? Will we get the quality of life in old age that we, and we alone, manage to buy for ourselves with money saved? And if we can't save, what will happen to us?

These are big, big worrying problems. The more people who face up to them and think about them, the better the chances of solving them before they overwhelm us.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.