§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the percentage of British employers who are subject to legislation in respect of the employment of the disabled; what percentage of those so subject are currently not complying with the legislative requirements; what steps he is taking to improve the situation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in 1977, 1978 and 1979 were registered as disabled and in employment in the United Kingdom, what percentage this is of the total number of persons employed in the United Kingdom in these years; and what comparative figures are available for other countries in the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. Peter Morrison[pursuant to his reply, 16 February 1981, c. 69]: The information is not available in the form requested. I am, however, advised by the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) that the numbers of people in the Register of Disabled Persons—established under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Acts—whether employed, unemployed or sick in Great Britain, for the years in question are:
136W
April 1977 532,402 April 1978 494,877 April 1979 482,006 April 1980 470,588 Monthly figures are available of unemployed registered disabled people who are registered for work at MSC's local employment offices and jobcentres, but it would be misleading to assume that all other registered disabled people were employed.
The only statistical information, about the employment of registered disabled people, collected centrally by the MSC is in respect of compliance with the provisions of the quota scheme. Only those employers with 20 or more employees are subject to the provisions of the scheme, and data collected relate to staff units employed—not the number of people.
Detailed statistics on the employment of registered disabled people in other European Community States are not currently available. Moreover, such information as is available suggests that there are no common criteria for registration within the Community, and therefore realistic comparisons of statistics could not be made.