Baroness Verma

We acknowledge the commitment of the organisers of the Age Without Limits Day and will follow it with interest. Ageism has no place in our society where we want to see and build inclusion, not exclusion.

The Equality Act 2010 has strong protections that enable people to challenge age discrimination across a range of fields, including recruitment processes. These protections make it unlawful for an employer, service provider or someone exercising public functions to treat a person less favourably because of age, unless this can be objectively justified.

Any older person who may have been personally discriminated against because of age may also contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), the government helpline established to provide free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns. The EASS can be contacted via their website - http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/, by telephone on 0808 8000082 or text phone on 0808 8000084. The EASS has the ability to intervene on an individual’s behalf with a service provider to help resolve an issue. The EASS can also advise people who wish to take their complaint further on their options.

We acknowledge the commitment of the organisers of the Age Without Limits Day and will follow it with interest. Ageism has no place in our society where we want to see and build inclusion, not exclusion.

The Equality Act 2010 has strong protections that enable people to challenge age discrimination across a range of fields, including recruitment processes. These protections make it unlawful for an employer, service provider or someone exercising public functions to treat a person less favourably because of age, unless this can be objectively justified.

Any older person who may have been personally discriminated against because of age may also contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), the government helpline established to provide free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns. The EASS can be contacted via their website - http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/, by telephone on 0808 8000082 or text phone on 0808 8000084. The EASS has the ability to intervene on an individual’s behalf with a service provider to help resolve an issue. The EASS can also advise people who wish to take their complaint further on their options.

It is not possible to accurately estimate the prevalence of age discrimination in recruitment and employment because not all such discrimination is reported or challenged and in some cases such differential treatment can be objectively justified.

The Equality Act 2010 (The Act) provides strong protection against discrimination related to age in both an employment and service provision context, as age is one of the nine protected characteristics listed in The Act. In addition, employers are not permitted to use a default retirement age for their employees.

These protections enable people to challenge age discrimination across a range of fields, including recruitment processes and when in work. Where age discrimination in recruitment and employment cannot be objectively justified and is unlawful, individuals can seek redress at an employment tribunal.

We acknowledge the commitment of the organisers of the Age Without Limits Day and will follow it with interest. Ageism has no place in our society where we want to see and build inclusion, not exclusion.

The Equality Act 2010 has strong protections that enable people to challenge age discrimination across a range of fields, including recruitment processes. These protections make it unlawful for an employer, service provider or someone exercising public functions to treat a person less favourably because of age, unless this can be objectively justified.

Any older person who may have been personally discriminated against because of age may also contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), the government helpline established to provide free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns. The EASS can be contacted via their website - http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/, by telephone on 0808 8000082 or text phone on 0808 8000084. The EASS has the ability to intervene on an individual’s behalf with a service provider to help resolve an issue. The EASS can also advise people who wish to take their complaint further on their options.

The Government consulted on how to apply the zero hours contracts measures in the Employment Rights Bill to agency workers, because of the intricacies of the tripartite employment model between agencies, agency workers and hirers.

We will respond to that consultation in due course, and we will subsequently consult on the details of zero hours contracts measures - including reference periods and hours thresholds - to inform their implementation. The measures are expected to be implemented no sooner than 2026.

The Government consulted on how to apply the zero hours contracts measures in the Employment Rights Bill to agency workers, because of the intricacies of the tripartite employment model between agencies, agency workers and hirers.

We will respond to that consultation in due course, and we will subsequently consult on the details of zero hours contracts measures - including reference periods and hours thresholds - to inform their implementation. The measures are expected to be implemented no sooner than 2026.

The Government consulted on how to apply the zero hours contracts measures in the Employment Rights Bill to agency workers, because of the intricacies of the tripartite employment model between agencies, agency workers and hirers.

We will respond to that consultation in due course, and we will subsequently consult on the details of zero hours contracts measures - including reference periods and hours thresholds - to inform their implementation. The measures are expected to be implemented no sooner than 2026.

Training providers play an important role in helping unemployed and economically inactive people develop the skills needed to move into sustained employment, and in helping employers access the skilled workers they need to drive growth and productivity.

Jobcentres work closely with training providers, Local Authorities, and Mayoral Strategic Authorities to develop suitable training provision to address the skills gaps faced by customers. Evidence shows that training is most effective when it is closely aligned with employer demand and genuine employment opportunities. For example, DWP’s Sector-based Work Academy Programmes work in partnership with training providers and employers to help route customers into local vacancies by delivering training, work experience, and a guaranteed job interview. We are expanding access to skills and employment support through the creation of 300,0000 new work experience and training opportunities.

To deliver more local training opportunities, we are spending around £1.4 billion this academic year through the Adult Skills Fund, to support classroom-based learning up to and including level 3.

The Government’s mission is to improve mental health care across the spectrum of need so that people of all ages can access the right support at the right time.

NHS England is committed to ensuring that the proportion of people aged 65 years old and over receiving a course of treatment through NHS Talking Therapies is maintained or increased. Currently, approximately 7% of courses of treatment delivered by NHS Talking Therapies services are for individuals in this age group.

The Positive Practice Guide, published in 2024 by NHS England and other stakeholder organisations, is designed to support therapists working with older adults. This resource addresses the diverse needs of older people and seeks to challenge misconceptions that may act as barriers to older people accessing psychological therapies.

Turkey is a valued ally sharing many of our priorities. We engage frequently at Ministerial level on Syria, including through the UK-Turkey Syria Dialogue with the last round held on 28 October. We share the objective of defeating Daesh and are looking to deepen our co-operation. We also work together through the Global Coalition Against Daesh and co-chair the Islamic State Korasan Province (ISKP)/Daesh-Afghanistan Focus Group, which is aligned with the Coalition. Security and stability in Syria are vital to ensure Daesh's territorial defeat is maintained and it cannot resurge.

Defence industrial co-operation is an important element of the UK's defence relationship with Türkiye. The Government recognises the value of closer engagement between UK and Turkish defence industries, as reflected by the UK-Türkiye Security and Defence Partnership signed in July 2026. The Government continues to facilitate defence industrial collaboration through regular engagements with Türkiye. This has included a trade mission in February; a ministerial delegation at SAHA Expo, Türkiye's premier defence and aerospace exhibition; and hosting a Turkish delegation at Farnborough International Airshow, where they met with UK industry and UK Government representatives. We will continue to work with industry and Turkish counterparts through the UK-Türkiye Defence Industry Council to identify opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration including in third-country markets.

All forms of hate crime are completely unacceptable, and this government is committed to tackling this wherever it manifests. Our efforts to build a country of tolerance and inclusion apply to people of all faiths and none.

The recent hate crime statistics showed almost 2 in 5 religious hate crimes were targeted against Muslims, which is why the Government announced this funding to provide a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hate and support victims. With cases on the rise, up-to-date and detailed information on incidents and drivers of this form of hatred will play a fundamental part in supporting the government to combat anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia and ensure Muslim communities feel safe and supported.

No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this.

The Government has worked with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of all forms of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report.

We are committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate religious hatred in any form.