§ 9. Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations she has received concerning agism in employment vacancies. [31790]
§ Mrs. GillanI have not yet received any representations myself but, like my predecessor, I am committed to the campaign for older workers. I commend to the House the excellent publication, "Too old … who says?", which provides advice and guidance to those seeking work. Agism makes no economic sense for individual employers or for the nation.
§ Mr. EvansMay I add my congratulations to the many other congratulations that my hon. Friend has received on her well-deserved and popular promotion to the Front Bench? My hon. Friend will know that I am extremely concerned about that group of the work force in their 40s and 50s who, through no fault of their own, lost their jobs during the recession and are unable to find work. What incentives and guidelines are the Government giving to employers to ensure that they do not turn their backs on that valuable resource?
§ Mrs. GillanI thank my hon. Friend for his generous remarks.
I know that my hon. Friend takes a great interest in the subject and the issue of agism. He has already raised with me some individual cases in his constituency. My predecessor successfully raised the profile of older workers but, importantly, with inflation and interest rates lower than for many years, our economic policies are improving everyone's employment prospects.
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. The House is in good spirits today.
§ Dr. ReidIn congratulating the hon. Lady on her promotion, may I bring to her attention the fact that many older workers are among the long-term unemployed? Will she explain to us in her first outing today why there are now three times as many long-term unemployed as there were when the Tory Government took over in 1979—and do so without assistance from her pal at the side?
§ Mrs. GillanI do not intend, even on my first outing, to take lectures on unemployment from the Labour party, particularly as the levels of unemployment rose quite unacceptably under the last Labour Government—if, indeed, there is anyone in the House who can remember that Government.
I have already mentioned the Government's campaign for older workers, which, with the support of the advisory group on older workers, aims to demonstrate the benefits of policies that allow people of all ages to contribute to their employers' success. The campaign also encourages older workers to be positive about the range of skills and knowledge that they can offer.