To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 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. (145699)

The following table provides the requested recruitment information. The data refer to external recruits to the Department and do not include transfers from other Government Departments.