§ 69. Mr. D. Jonesasked the Minister of Labour how many disabled persons are registered in the County of Lancashire; and how many in Burnley.
§ Mr. WhitelawOn 12th November, 8,504 registered disabled persons were unemployed in Lancashire, including 222 in the Burnley area.
§ Mr. JonesIs not the hon. Gentleman aware that this is a very high figure indeed? Is he not further aware that there is no rehabilitation centre of any kind in Lancashire, and would he consider building such a centre in Burnley, where it would be very warmly welcomed?
§ Mr. WhitelawI note that the hon. Member says. He will be aware, on the other hand, that there is a Remploy factory in Burnley which employs sixty severely disabled employees. I am sure he will think this is very valuable.
§ Mr. JonesI want to make it perfectly clear that there is a difference, which the Parliamentary Secretary should appreciate, between Remploy and rehabilitation, and I insist on my point that there is no rehabilitation centre in Lancashire. We need one, and Burnley would offer an excellent site for such a place.
§ Mr. WhitelawI did start by saying that I accepted what the hon. Member put forward about the rehabilitation unit. I was not confusing the two at all, but I thought that he would be interested in the information about the Remploy centre.