§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment on what evidence he bases his assertion that the paramount factor affecting unemployment of disabled people is the national employment situation; if he will initiate a further study of the effects of economic trends on the employment undertaken by disabled people with a view to taking specific protective measures; and if he will make a further statement.
§ Mr. John GrantInformation is available from monthly figures about unemployment generally, unemployed registered disabled people, and job vacancies; and also from the experience of disablement resettlement officers. Straight comparisons of unemployment figures are subject to numerous qualifications, as my hon. Friend knows, but examination of past statistics seems to suggest that movements upwards or downwards in general unemployment are 275W reflected over time in figures about registered disabled people.
Disablement resettlement officers are very conscious of how the state of the job market, and vacancies available, affect their ability to place disabled people whose additional difficulties are recognised by the provision of specialist resettlement, rehabilitation and training services, the quota scheme, and sheltered employment. These services have been exhaustively reviewed in the recent past. Further general studies are unlikely to lead to different conclusions about the nature of the task of the specialist services whose plans and programmes are kept under review by the Manpower Services Commission and the National Advisory Council on Employment of Disabled People.