Welfare Reform Bill

I am very grateful to noble Lords who took part in the debate and for the support for my amendment. The noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, stressed the increase in the numbers of those over 50 who have become unemployed in recent months since the recession began. The noble Baroness, Lady Turner, confirmed my feelings about the need for more research. I was pleased to hear the Minister say that they are doing constant research. If he could let me know, in a letter, the type of research being done I would be very grateful. As the Minister said, the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, raised very valid points. The noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, puzzled me, but perhaps we do not have the rapport that we should have because he thought I did not support him fully in his amendment, but I do. He mentioned reskilling, with which there is a problem. I am concerned that the system is unable to cope. There are not enough properly trained people to deal with the over-50s and understand the man who has worked for a motor-car factory for 30 years and suddenly finds himself, with very little notice, out of work. He might stand at the factory gate with a television interviewer with a microphone in his hand and say, "I have done this for 30 years and I do not know what I am going to do". That must be very distressing for him and all the people around him. There is a real need for people who understand the pressures that these people are under. I thought that the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, suggested a very bright idea. The Minister did not respond to it, but it would be nice and very helpful if he could take it on board and think about it. The Minister talked about equality and I would talk also about fairness. Employers are taking a long time to catch up with Her Majesty’s Government. They do not seem to observe the age discrimination rules as they should. Far too many people have been turned down for employment or even sacked simply because they are aged over 50 and are extra to the employer’s needs. Most of these people want to be in work and want to stay in work. I am not asking for them to be left out so that they can slack about and do nothing on benefits. The conditionality must be coupled with support, which is not always there, and is what I tried to stress. More important than anything is the availability of work, which is scarce. It is not available and to put pressures on people when they cannot get a job is unfair.