To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people over the age of 55 have been recruited by his Department and its predecessors in each of the last three years. (191529)

The figures for civil servants over the age of 55 recruited by my Department (BERR and before that DTI) in each of the last three years are as follows:

These are overall figures the Department, excluding its agencies and non-departmental bodies.