§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he gives guidance on local authorities' employment policies, to seek to prevent. the councils as employers from discriminating against prospective employees on the ground that they are in receipt of a pension as a result of having served in the armed forces; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will introduce proposals for legislation making it illegal for local authorities to discriminate against job applicants because they are in receipt of a pension as a result of having served in the armed forces; and if he will make a statement;
(3) if he will list all those local authorities who have an official policy of discriminating against job applicants on the ground that they are in receipt of a pension from the armed forces.
§ Mr. KeyLocal authorities are responsible for their own recruitment policies. Like other employers, they are free to employ whom they wish, subject to the provisions of general employment law.
200WMy Department holds no records of local authorities which discriminate against job applicants receiving pensions from the armed forces. Any legislation on this issue would be a matter for the Department of Employment. There are no plans to introduce legislation or provide guidance in this area.
Section 7 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 requires that, subject to other employment law, all appointments to local authority posts are made on merit. Within the terms of the selection criteria applied by local authorities, a successful applicant must be capable of meeting the requirements of the post applied for.