§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) by what means the availability of the adaptations to premises and equipment scheme is made known to disabled people and their potential employers;
(2) by what means the availability of the job introduction scheme is made known to disabled people and their potential employers.
§ Mr. EggarInformation about the adaptations to premises and equipment and job introduction schemes is made available to disabled people and their potential or actual employers through employment service staff, particularly disablement resettlement officers and, in the case of employers, the disablement advisory service, leaflets describing the schemes, and other organisations who advise people with disabilities. The code of good practice on the employment of disabled people, of which 120,000 copies have been distributed, also describes the schemes.
§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled people benefit from the adaptations to the premises and equipment scheme in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. EggarThe number of disabled people who benefited from the adaptation to premises and equipment scheme in each of the last 10 years was:
Number 1979–80 94 1980–81 83 1981–82 93 1982–83 117 1983–84 170 1984–85 145 1985–86 165 1986–87 253 1987–88 252 1988–89 247
§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled people received assistance through the job introduction scheme in each of the past 10 years.
§ Mr. EggarThe number of people with disabilities who received assistance through the job introduction scheme in each of the past 10 years was:
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Number 1979–80 1,504 1980–81 1,072 1981–82 1,434
Number 1982–83 1,295 1983–84 1,850 1984–85 2,033 1985–86 1,828 1986–87 1,460 1987–88 1,629 1988–89 2,090
§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disablement resettlement officers were employed by his Department in each of the years 1979 to 1989.
§ Mr. EggarIn April 1989, a total of 488 members of staff in the employment service were undertaking disablement resettlement officer duties, of whom 333 were doing so full time. I regret that comparable figures are not available for previous years.
§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were registered as disabled under the provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 in each of the years 1978 to 1989.
§ Mr. EggarThe numbers of people registered under the provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 in April of each of the years from 1978 to 1989 were:
Numbers 1978 494,877 1979 482,006 1980 470,588 1981 460,178 1982 447,259 1983 433,177 1984 420,475 1985 404,170 1986 389,273 1987 383,439 1988 374,238 1989 366,768
§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will make a statement on the underspending of amounts estimated for the job introduction scheme to assist people with disability to seek employment in 10 of the last years;
(2) if he will make a statement on the underspending of amounts estimated for the adaptations to premises and equipment scheme to assist people with disabilities in seven of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. EggarIn estimating each year expenditure on the special schemes for people with disabilities, the Department seeks to ensure that provision is adequate to meet likely demand. That can inevitably result in overprovision for particular schemes. The Department is able to use funds not needed for a particular scheme to meet the demand arising on the other schemes. Over the 10 years 1979–80 to 1988–89, expenditure on the job introduction scheme increased from £297,201 to £614,000, on the adaptations to premises and equipment scheme from £50,000 to £423,000 and on all the special schemes together from £796,961 to £5,668,949. This very substantial increase in expenditure demonstrates the success of the disablement advisory service and other departmental staff in making the help available more widely known to employers and people with disabilities.
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§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the training period for disablement resettlement officers; and how this has changed during the last 10 years.
§ Mr. EggarThe current training period for disablement resettlement officers is six months. This includes attending national training courses, local project work, use of self-learning packs and on-the-job coaching. Between 1975 and 1983 the training programme for DROs was seven weeks, mainly devoted to national training courses.
§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment which organisations of disabled people he has consulted and which ones he intends to consult before determining future Government policy towards the operation of the quota scheme for disabled people.
§ Mr. EggarThe quota scheme is among the matters being considered in the internal review of services for people with disabilities which my Department has been undertaking. In conducting the review, account has been taken of views expressed previously by a wide range of organisations and individuals. We intend to seek comments from all major organisations of and for people with disabilities on the consultative document which will be published on completion of the review. Copies of this document will also be available to others who express an interest, and their comments will be welcomed.
§ Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to announce the conclusions of the ministerial review of employment provision for disabled people.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 10 November 1989]: The review is at an advanced stage. The consultative document which will follow the review will be published as soon as possible.