§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if(a) her Department and (b) its agencies have a policy of not considering applications for employment by persons over a particular age. [59451]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe Department for Education and Skills is committed to raising awareness of age issues throughout the Department and eliminating age discrimination, particularly against older people. Age is a key element of the equal opportunities strategy and policy and will remain so.
Our policy provides that all eligible people must have equality of opportunity for employment and advancement on the basis of their suitability for the work, which is assessed through competence based systems. There is no unfair discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin. Additionally, we continually analyse management information relating to age, to monitor any adverse impact, and improve, our key HR systems.