It seeks to encourage and support the Government in the fight against age discrimination in which they need to engage. I hope that the newly formed commission would see it as an early priority to consult and involve employers throughout business in order to develop effective, practical, workable age legislation before the deadline of 2006. The commission must focus on the implementation of flexible options at the end of people's working lives, and it must include a review of the age bars that exist in current employment law. That key part of the toolbox for our economic future is built into my Bill. The simple fact is that people continue to live longer and healthier lives than ever before, many having left paid employment in their early 50s.
Birth rates continue to fall, and far fewer people are coming into the labour market.
Recent surveys across business have established that 91 per cent. I deplore that. I believe that the employers forum on age offers a promising start. Column 324 ageism at the top of the political agenda. Ageism in employment just does not tie in with the country's economic prospects.