§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Department is taking to address the issue of age discrimination. [109459]
§ Mr. AlexanderThe Cabinet Office has integrated age into its equal opportunity policies and is committed to ensuring that there should be no unfair discrimination. It is the Department's policy that everyone should have equality of opportunity on the basis of their ability, qualifications and suitability for the work.
The Department will continue to tackle any negative attitudes towards older staff particularly through the training and development of managers and through the monitoring of recruitment, selection and performance statistics.
The Cabinet Office has reviewed its retirement policy for grades below the Senior Civil Service in line with the recommendations of the Cabinet Office report 'Winning the Generation Game'. The normal retirement age is 60 years but retention beyond this age up to age 70 is possible subject to departmental needs, regular attendance and effective performance.