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.

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.

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.