§ Mr. Thurnhamasked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to seek to ensure that public sector employers match the percentage quota of registered disabled staff currently employed by the private sector.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkAs my hon. Friend will know, Government departments on average employ a higher percentage of registered disabled persons than the private sector. As to other public sector employers, staff of the Manpower Services Commission regularly remind them of their duties and obligations under the quota scheme, both during contacts connected with the resettlement of individual registered disabled people and on regular visits to promote employment opportunities for disabled people generally. These efforts have been given added impetus by the publication of the code of practice on the employment of disabled people, which also reminds employers of their responsibilities under the scheme. In addition I wrote last November to Ministerial colleagues asking them to draw the code to the attention of the public sector organisations for which they are responsibile.