Welfare Reform Bill

We have sympathy with the reasoning behind the amendment. There is no doubt that once older people are out of work for more than six months, the chances of them working again are low. In the past year, unemployment has risen by 48 per cent among the 50-plus age group, which is faster than for any other age group, and it is still rising. In the present climate, there is not only a lack of suitable jobs, but evidence that older people are not being given the right support by Jobcentre Plus. For example, some of the support is help on how to write a CV and training in interview techniques, which is not much help for an older person who may have been made redundant several times and has been unemployed for two years. Undoubtedly, the greatest barrier is age discrimination, as the noble Countess, Lady Mar, has said, which is the chief finding of research carried out by Age Concern and Help the Aged. Does the DWP have up-to-date research on the best way to help the over-50 age group find work? Listening to the "You and Yours" radio programme today about unemployment, a woman reported having her CV returned, having failed to get a job, with her age highlighted. Another older woman was told, "Oh, you sounded much younger on the telephone". Many of those aged over 50 now out of work would have been working for more than 30 years and will not need the "work for your benefit" regime to instil discipline into their lives. They are desperate to get a job. They need not only the right help from properly trained JCP staff, but for employers to be encouraged to take older workers. I strongly support the grouped amendment about research into the employment prospects of those aged over 50.