Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been helped to (a) remain in and (b) return to work by the Fuller Working Lives initiative in (i) the UK, (ii) Wales and (iii) Aberavon.

The data requested is not held, however the number of older workers in the UK is at a record high, currently there are 10 million workers aged 50 years and over. 8.8 million individuals aged 50-64 are in employment; an increase of over 1 million people compared to five years ago. There are 1.2 million individuals in employment aged 65 and over.

Employment rates for older workers have also been increasing and have recently reached record highs. In the past ten years, the employment rate for people aged 50-64 has increased by 6.2 percentage points (from 64.9% in 2007 to 71.1% in 2017). The employment rate for individuals aged 65 and over has almost doubled to 10.1% now, from 5.1% twenty years ago.

Further information on estimates of employment, unemployment, economic inactivity and other employment-related statistics for the UK can be found in the “UK labour market: October 2017” statistical bulletin published at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/october2017

Further information on labour market statistics for separate UK countries, as well as local areas, can be found at the NOMIS website:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/

The Government is committed to supporting people aged 50 years and over to remain in and return to work; the ‘Fuller Working Lives: A Partnership Approach’ strategy was published on 2nd February. This, crucially, is led by employers, but it also sets out the case for action by individuals, and the role of Government in supporting them in planning their careers and their approach to retirement. The Strategy and supporting evidence base are available at the attached web address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fuller-working-lives-a-partnership-approach

Analysis on the headline measures that the government uses to monitor progress on Fuller Working Lives can be found in this statistical release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/economic-labour-market-status-of-individuals-aged-50-and-over-trends-over-time-september-2017