Oral Answers to Questions

David Amess Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Amess (Southend West) (Con)]

5. What recent steps his Department has taken to support older workers.

[The Minister for Pensions (Steve Webb)]

The Government have abolished the default retirement age, extended the right to request flexible working and given people more freedom in how they draw their pension pots to smooth the transition to retirement. We recently published “Fuller Working Lives: a framework for action”, which sets out the business case for employing older workers, and we have appointed Dr Ros Altmann as the Government’s business champion for older workers.

[Mr Amess]

Does the Minister agree that with changing demographics—for instance, on Sunday 5 October in Southend there will be the largest gathering of centenarians in the world ever—employers should recognise the experience that an ageing population has to offer?

[Steve Webb]

My hon. Friend is quite right that older workers have valuable knowledge and experience and that employers who fail to retain their older workers are losing important skills from their work force. However, I can assure my hon. Friend and the centenarians who will be attending his event in Southend that we do not require them actively to seek work.