To ask Her Majesty's Government how they audit age equality in personnel matters when most departments do not collect and analyse staff age data. [HL1610]

The Civil Service is committed to recruiting and developing people of all ages, an approach that is consistent with the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. Data on age and other employee characteristics are collected and published through the Office for National Statistics's annual Civil Service employment survey. The survey results include tables that show the age profile across the Civil Service and a breakdown by department; the results of the most recent survey for 2008 can be found on its website at www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk= 2899&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=422.