§ 6. Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has made any assessment of the extent to which flexible retirement for men between the ages of 60 and 65 years would provide job opportunities for younger people.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonA recent survey of the job release scheme, which allows people nearing retirement age to give up work early provided that their employer undertakes to recruit an unemployed person as a replacement worker, showed that 40 per cent. of replacement workers are aged under 25.
§ Sir David PriceThat is an encouraging start, but is my right hon. Friend aware that over 900,000 men at work are aged between 60 and 65, and that more of them would be willing to take earlier retirement—
§ Mr. CanavanSpeak for yourself.
§ Sir David Price—if the State pension scheme could be made fully flexible?
§ Mr. MorrisonI heard my hon. Friend, but he will agree with me that the conditions of the job release scheme are perhaps the most effective way to get people into work.
§ Mr. Greville JannerDoes the Minister agree that the most effective way of getting people back to work would be to allow men to retire at 60 if they wished, allowing some of those thousands of people out of work and desperate for those jobs to get them? Is it not a ludicrous paradox that in constituencies such as mine there are hundreds of men desperate for dignified retirement, while there are thousands of young people in desperate need of those jobs?
§ Mr. MorrisonAs the hon. and learned Gentleman is no doubt aware, if the retirement age for men were reduced 138 to 60 it would result in about another 420,000 jobs, but it would cost £2,500 million, and the Government must have regard to resources.