§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to address the issue of age discrimination. [109454]
§ Ms HewittThe DTI is strongly and actively committed to diversity in its workforce. Age restrictions do not apply to DTI job advertisements or to selection criteria. We have adopted, or had already met, the recommendations in the Cabinet Office's Winning the Generation Game report and will continue to embed age diversity in all policies and processes as part of diversity mainstreaming. This includes from August 2002 giving all staff in the DTI below the Senior Civil Service the option of continuing to work to age 65.