§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled people are presently unemployed in Ayrshire; how this compares with June 1970; and what action the Government propose on this problem.
§ Mr. Dudley Smith459 registered disabled people were unemployed in Ayrshire on 8th June 1970 and 640 on 12th February 1972. My Department's resettlement service continues to make every effort to find suitable jobs for these people; and the Government have taken substantial measures to expand the economy and to create more employment opportunities.
I am glad to say that since February 1972, when the comparable figure was 668, there has been a modest but significant improvement in the employment situation of disabled people in the area. I should add that a wide-ranging review of my Department's services for disabled
190Wrepresent, and the comparisons for a year earlier.
§ Mr. Chichester-ClarkThe following estimates for April 1971 and April 1972, derived from the New Earnings Survey, indicate the numbers of women, including those whose pay was affected by absence, aged 18 and over in full-time manual or non-manual employment in all industries and services in Great Britain with gross hourly earnings less than the amounts specified in the pay period covered by the survey. More recent estimates are not available. They are subject to sampling error and exclude about 2¾ million women whose normal weekly hours are not more than 30—under 25 in the case of teachers—or not specified.
people has recently been concluded and my right hon. Friend is consulting the National Advisory Council on the Employment of the Disabled and other bodies concerned on how to improve those services.