Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to support older workers.

This Government has abolished the default retirement age, extended the right to request flexible working, and will be giving people more freedom in how they draw their pension pots to smooth the transition to retirement. The Department also published “Fuller Working Lives - A Framework for Action” in June, which set out the business case for employing older workers and included the following actions:

• DWP to work more closely with Local Enterprise Partnerships to encourage them to focus on the issue of fuller working lives in their local area;

• DH, DWP and GEO to launch a trial on carers in employment and the role assistive technology can play in helping them to combine work and care:

• A number of pilots with Jobcentre Plus on back to work support for carers; and

• DWP to develop a new guidance toolkit for employers - this will build on the existing Age Positive employer guidance.

• In July 2014, Dr Ros Altmann was appointed as the Business Champion for Older Workers and is making the case for the importance of fuller working lives for individuals, employers and wider society.