§ Mr. Andrew BowdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to assess the impact on employers of his Department's encouragement not to discriminate against employees on the grounds of age.
§ Mr. NichollsMy Department is using a number of means to monitor the effect of our policy of encouraging employers not to discriminate against employees on the grounds of age. A survey of vacancies notified to jobcentres was carried out in 1989 which showed a reduction, as against the previous year, in the number of vacancies specifying age limits. The Institute of Manpower Studies has recently conducted research, on behalf of my Department, into the employment and utilisation of older workers and will report shortly. Research was also carried out in support of the National Economic Development Office and Training Agency report, "Defusing the Demographic Time Bomb", which showed an encouraging number of employers are taking steps to widen their recruitment sources, including initiatives to attract mature workers.