Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU countries on the role of people aged over 50 in the EU labour market.

The UK was represented by DWP officials at an event held in Brussels on ‘delivering longer working lives and higher retirement ages’ organised by the EU and the OECD on 12-13 November. The focus of the event was around:

i. The Review of present State of retirement affairs across EU 28 - new challenges for labour market and social policies from the early exit routes and the linking of pensionable ages to life expectancy;

ii. Identifying the conditions that encourage and enable people to work longer;

iii. Discussions on how older workers that experience problems to work longer can be accommodated.

We need to maintain focus on delivering jobs and growth. Strong national ownership of the necessary structural reforms by Member States is vital to achieving this.