§ 79. Mr. WareingTo ask the Minister for the Civil Service what plans he has to encourage Government Departments to adhere to the quota system in order to ensure that better opportunities are available to enable disabled people to be recruited into the Civil Service.
§ Mr. LuceAll Departments aim to employ a 3 per cent. quota of staff who are registered as disabled. We will shortly be publishing a revised code of practice on disability to help to increase employment opportunities for disabled people in the Civil Service.
§ Mr. WareingIt is nice to hear the Minister, who is sitting next to the Minister with responsibility for the disabled, say that the Government are trying to ensure that the quota is met, but they are not achieving much. Not a single Government Department, including the Cabinet Office, adheres to the 3 per cent. quota. Is that because it is really the Government's intention to phase out the 3 per cent. quota?
§ Mr. LuceThe latter part of the question is for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security, but the hon. Gentleman is wrong to suggest that no Department has met or exceeded the quota of 3 per cent. At 1 June 1989, five Government Departments were above the quota and four had reached 2.5 per cent. Overall 1.3 per cent. of Civil Service employees are registered disabled, which is a little more than the figure for the national work force.