Press Release - Welfare to Work: Tackling the Barriers to the
Employment of Older People
15 September 2004
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to
Parliament today that good progress has been made in recent years
in increasing the overall employment rate for older people. The gap
between the proportion of older people in work compared to the
general working population has also narrowed by 1 per cent over the
last year. Improving the position of older people in the labour
market and tackling age discrimination in the workplace are key
elements of the Governments employment strategy. However,
substantial regional and local variations remain in employment
rates for older people and in the number who are economically
inactive, with areas like the North East and Wales having
particularly high levels of inactivity.
The Government is increasing employment opportunities in a
number of ways including working with employers to raise awareness
of the benefits of employing an age diverse workforce, increasing
the opportunities and incentives for people to work longer if they
wish to, and helping older people back into work by improving
self-confidence, providing work experience, financial incentives,
supporting self-employment and improving skills. Sir John said
despite the progress, further efforts were needed to tackle the
barriers to employment of the over 50s given the demographic
changes facing the country. It is estimated that the relatively low
levels of employment among older workers costs the economy 19-31
billion a year, mostly in lost output but also because of reduced
taxes and increased welfare payments.
Against the background of an ageing population, a high overall
employment rate and skills shortages in the labour market, around
2.7 million people between 50 and state pension age do not work.
Currently, almost half are receiving incapacity benefits, many on a
long-term basis. Between 700,000 and one million of those currently
inactive say they would like to work, with some 200,000 seeking
employment, although they are confronted by one or more barriers to
finding a job.
Todays report examines the progress that has been made in
helping older people overcome the barriers to employment. These
barriers include relatively low levels of skills, age
discrimination by some employers, health problems, low confidence
and negative attitudes to employment.
The report underlines the importance of joint working between
government, employers and the voluntary sector at a local level, as
well as the need for better publicity to improve awareness of local
services to help improve employment prospects.
The NAO found that the scheme specifically for older workers -
New Deal 50 Plus - has helped more than 120,000 people into work at
an estimated cost of 270 million, although an unknown number of
these people would have found jobs anyway. Other employment and
training programmes (in particular, the New Deal 25 Plus and Work
Based Learning for Adults) have helped a further 70,000 older
people into work over the last five years. Jobcentre Plus is
increasing the flexibility within its programmes in order to better
meet the individual needs of people facing acute or multiple
barriers to work. This includes piloting new approaches to help
people claiming incapacity benefits return to work.
Older people still have relatively low levels of participation
in most forms of training and education, which they need to compete
more effectively in the labour market. They are also
under-represented in their use of Information, Advice and Guidance
Partnerships, which are a valuable source of help for people who
are out of work.
The report also identifies age discrimination on the part of
some employers as an ongoing and significant problem. Legislation
to outlaw such discrimination is expected in October 2006 but there
has been a delay in issuing for consultation the draft regulations.
However the Government has announced a national guidance campaign
in advance of the legislation to further enable employers to adopt
age positive employment practices and to encourage the recruitment,
training and retention of older workers.
The NAO report makes a number of recommendations aimed at
building on the success achieved so far. These include: DWP should
undertake a full evaluation of New Deal 50 Plus to determine, as
far as possible, its net economic effect and the impact on
participation levels of introducing the Working Tax Credit in April
2003; Jobcentre Plus and Learning and Skills Council local offices
should share objectives and priorities in respect of improving the
employability of older people and collaborate on contracting for
employment and training services, in line with the recommendations
of the recent report by the National Employment Panel; DWP and
Jobcentre Plus should develop performance measures that reflect
improvements in the employability of people who have participated
in programmes but not yet succeeded in obtaining employment, as an
incentive for staff to help such people; Regional Development
Agencies should set targets for the employment of disadvantaged
groups within their regions; more local Learning and Skills
Councils should address the education and training needs of older
people and Information, Advice and Guidance Partnerships should
target their services on those most likely to benefit from them;
and the Department for Trade and Industry should consider whether
its support for the PRIME Initiative Ltd which supports
self-employment for older people should be expanded.
Sir John Bourn said today:
"Good progress has been made in increasing the
employment rate for older people. As people are living longer it is
important that they have better opportunities to continue working
for longer, should they wish to do so, than has been the case in
the past. There is scope for government agencies to focus their
efforts on improving the employability of older people and for
targeting disadvantaged groups. Success will bring benefits not
only for the individual, but also for business, the taxpayer and
the economy at large."
Notes for Editors:
- For the purposes of this report the National Audit Office has
used the Governments definition of older people as those over
50.
- Incapacity benefits is a generic term covering contributory
Incapacity Benefit; Income Support, on the grounds of incapacity;
and Severe Disablement Allowance.
- The National Employment Panel is an employer-led body that
provides independent advice to Ministers on the design, delivery
and performance of the UK Governments labour market policies and
programmes.
- The PRIME Initiative Ltd is a national organisation that
encourages those over 50 to consider self-employment or starting a
business. It is being supported by the Government until March
2006.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at www.nao.org.uk. Hard copies can
be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office employing some 800 staff. He and
the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 55/04
All enquiries to Bill Schaper, NAO Press Office:
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