HC Deb 02 February 1988 vol 126 cc564-6W
Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what element of the initial training of disablement resettlement officers is specifically devoted to(a) deaf awareness and (b) communication skills.

Mr. Lee

One module of the initial training course for disablement resettlement officers is specifically about the problems of hearing impairments including communication aspects. This is followed by project work, which includes establishing links with local agencies helping the deaf, and acquiring knowledge of resources available at local, regional and national level.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria are used to judge whether disabled people should be advised by disablement resettlement officers or other jobcentre staff.

Mr. Lee

There are no hard and fast rules, but disablement resettlement officers (DROs) provide particular help to those people with disabilities who require specialist occupational counselling and advice, and those who have special needs arising from their disabilities.

In particular, they help (a) recently disabled people, (b) those who have an acute need for occupational advice in relation to their disability, (c) those who need counselling to engender either confidence or realism in relation to their employment prospects, and (d) those whose disability impedes the process of job search and for whom the normal jobcentre services are therefore not appropriate.

However, anyone with a disability can see a DRO on request.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many deaf people were placed in work by the disablement resettlement officer service for each of the last five years; and of these how many went into sheltered workshops.

Mr. Lee

The disablement resettlement officer service aims to help all people with disabilities, regardless of the type of disability. I therefore regret that the information requested is not available.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disablement resettlement officers are currently employed by region.

Mr. Lee

The numbers of disablement resettlement officers currently employed, by region are as follows:

Numbers
Northern 27
Yorkshire & Humberside 43
East Midlands & Eastern 37
London and the South East:
Eastern Division 38
Southern Division 39
Western Division 36
South West 33
Wales 28
West Midlands 42
North West 47
Scotland 45

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the average length of service for a disablement resettlement officer for each of the last five years.

Mr. Lee

I regret the information is not available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disablement resettlement officers currently employed are qualified in communication skills with deaf people.

Mr. Lee

I regret the information is not available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to increase the level of training about deafness given to disablement resettlement officers.

Mr. Lee

I have no plans at present to increase the level of training about deafness given to disablement resettlement officers.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average size of population served by a disablement resettlement officer.

Mr. Lee

Disablement resettlement services are organised in relation to various considerations —geographical location, the size of the labour market, proximity of hospitals, public transport availability, size of caseload and so on. An "average size of population" served by a disablement resettlement officer would therefore have little real meaning, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to improve the career prospects for disablement resettlement officers.

Mr. Lee

Disablement resettlement officers are members of the executive officer grade of the administration group of the home Civil Service. As such they are eligible for the normal avenues of promotion and career developmental opportunities appropriate to that grade.