Departments: Older Workers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people aged (a) over 55 years of age and (b) over 60 years of age have been recruited by his Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage in each case this is of the number of new recruits in each year. (145703)

The available figures are as set out in the tables.

Within the Criminal Records Bureau, these data are not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Available figures for Central Home Office and Border and Immigration Agency
	2007	2006	2005
	Number	Percentage of new entrants	Number	Percentage of new entrants	Number	Percentage of new entrants
(a) people over 55 years of age¹	82	3.36	160	6.36	174	6.65
(b) people over 60 years of age	17	0.70	26	1.03	51	1.95
¹ Number given is new entrants aged over 55, it therefore excludes those in (b).

An earlier PQ 143915 asked for staff numbers in the category ‘55 and over’ figures supplied there are larger than the sum of (a) and (b) above as they include those at 55 years of age.

The figures have been taken from records held on the Home Office personnel system called ADELPHI.

*Recruits into public sector Prison Service aged (a) over 55 and (b) over 60*
	2006-07	2005-06	2004-05
	Number	Percentage of new entrants	Number	Percentage of new entrants	Number	Percentage of new entrants
(a) people over 55 years of age	389	6.70	335	5.90	344	6.10
(b) people over 60 years of age	109	1.90	75	1.30	68	1.20
Note: New entrants in (b) are also included in (a). The figures include staff who are either 55 or 60 years of age or older respectively on the day of joining the Prison Service

*IPS*
	2007	2006	2005
	Number	Percentage of new entrants	Number	Percentage of new entrants	Number	Percentage of new entrants
(a) people over 55 years	335 ppl (8.2%)	0.76	308 ppl (-8.60%)	0.68	279 ppl (-9.20%)	0.91
(b) people over 60 years	160 ppl (-3.90%)	0.21	146 ppl (-4.00%)	0.34	130 ppl (-4.30%)	0.21

Volume 462: debated on Thursday 28 June 2007