§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what schemes currently exist to provide jobs for unemployed people over 50 years of age; and whether he will bring forward proposals to increase the help available for this age group.
§ Mr. NichollsThe community programme provides temporary jobs for unemployed people, including people over 50 years of age. From 5 September, a new training programme, employment training, will replace the community programme and other programmes for unemployed adults. Employment training, which will also be open to people over 50 years of age, will offer high-quality training to meet individual needs and to help all participants compete more effectively for the increasing number of jobs now becoming available. In addition, the Department and the Training Commission have a wide range of services and programmes which are available to people aged over 50.