§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the cost of the Disablement Resettlement Service in Greater London in the last 12 months for which figures are available; how many disabled people were placed in employment by the service in that period; and what was the estimated cost per person placed of the service.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the best available estimate of the cost of the Disablement Resettlement Service in Greater London in the 12 months ended 30th June 1975 is approximately £600,000. The calculation excludes expenditure on employment rehabilitation of disabled people. However, it includes the cost of a number of activities not strictly involved in placing work, which it is not possible to separate, and an important element of social provision.
Due to an industrial dispute, figures for the number of disabled people placed in employment during the three months December 1974 to February 1975 are not available. The total number of placings in the remaining nine months was 7,330. On the assumption that the cost of providing the Disablement Resettlement Service for those nine months was about £450,000, the estimated cost per person placed was about £60. However, to the extent that the calculation covers non-placing activity, the cost per placing is overstated.