§ Mr. John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish a table showing the numbers of disabled people employed under the 3 per cent. rule by companies, nationalised industries, local authorities and the Civil Service during the last 10 years, nationally, in London and within the London borough of Harrow; and if he will state whether the 3 per cent. rule is generally being followed.
§ Mr. John GrantI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it is not possible to provide all the information requested. Such information as can be provided in relation to these particular groups of employers dates from 1976 only, and is as follows:
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GREAT BRITAIN 1978 1977 1976 Number of registered disabled people employed Average level of quota compliance Per cent. Number of registered disabled people employed Average level of quota compliance Per cent. Number of registered disabled people employed Average level of quota compliance Per cent. Companies … … 184,774.5 1.8 194,239 1.8 197,709 1.9 Nationalised industries and public authorities … … 28,231 1.7 28,319 1.8 31,544 1.9 Local authorities … … 25,770 1.2 26,632 1.2 27,279 1.3 Government Departments … … 13,573.5 1.9 14,173.5 1.9 15,211.5 2.1 LONDON Local authorities … … 3,983.5 1.3 4,241 1.4 4,229.5 1.4 (including Harrow) … … (65) (1.0) (68) (1.0) (70) (1.1) Notes: (1) The provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Acts are not binding on the Crown, but Government Departments have nevertheless agreed to accept the same responsibilities as other employers. (2) The figures for the groups of public sector employers have been aggregated from the appropriate individual employers whose figures, since 1976, have been published by agreement in the November issue of the Department of Employment Gazette. The figures for the nationalised industries and public authorities group exclude certain organisations which comprise constituents who are treated as separate employers for quota purposes. (3) The column headed "number of registered disabled people employed" shows in some cases 0.5 of a decimal place. This is because registered disabled people who are normally employed between 10–30 hours per week count as half a unit of staff for the purpose of calculating an employer's quota percentage. A similar rule applies to the total number of staff employed. At 1 June 1978, the latest date for which information is available, 82 per cent. of employers were complying with the law either by satisfying quota (36.8 per cent.) or by obtaining permits before engaging able-bodied people while below quota (45.2 per cent.) The remaining 18 per cent. of employers who were below quota and without permit had not necessarily broken the law unless they had engaged able-bodied people.
The MSC recognises the difficulties facing employers in satisfying quota, particularly as only disabled people who voluntarily register count towards quota, and is aware of the need to reflect the true extent to which employment is being provided for disabled people. The quota scheme is currently being reviewed so that recommendations can be made as to the best way of helping disabled people. The Commission intends to issue a discussion paper in the near future to seek the views of interested organisations.