§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to encourage employers to provide places for older women who wish to return to work.
§ Mr. NichollsWhile it is for employers to make arrangements to recruit the employees they need for the jobs they want doing, my right hon. and learned Friend and his colleagues will continue to take every opportunity to encourage them to make their recruitment and retention policies attractive to women and to older workers. My hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of Employment recently launched a campaign aimed at raising employers' awareness of the likely impact of demographic change and to help them develop and implement action plans to meet it. The Department of Employment group also has a number of employment and training programmes which can help people wishing to return to work to take advantage of job vacancies provided by employers.