§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) which local authorities employ fewer than the 3 per cent. employment quota of disabled people; and if she will make a statement;
(2) how many disabled people are employed by local authorities in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M E G Fogden to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 29 March 1993:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your 95W Parliamentary Questions about which local authorities employ fewer than the 3 per cent. quota of disabled people; and how many disabled people are employed by local authorities in the United Kingdom. These are matters which, in respect of Great Britain, fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.Tables showing the number of registered disabled people employed by a wide range of public sector employers in Great Britain, including local authorities, and the percentage of total staff represented by those numbers, are published annually in the "Employment Gazette". The information is published with the agreement of the individual employers concerned. Only those disabled people who have chosen to register as disabled under the terms of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Acts 1944 and 1958 count towards the Quota.The tables of figures are preceded by a short article. This explains how and when the information is collected, and the formula which has to be used by employers, for the purposes of the Quota Scheme, to calculate their number of registered disabled workers and their total workforce. Both are in terms of "staff unit" equivalents rather than people.I enclose an extract from the February 1992 issue of "Employment Gazette" this includes data on the Quota positions of local authorities at 1 June 1991. The total number of registered disabled people (in terms of staff units) employed by local authorities was 17,910. This is the aggregate total for district and country councils in England and Wales, Scottish district and regional councils, Scottish island councils and London borough councils.I expect the tables of figures for June 1992 to be in the April 1993 issue of "Employment Gazette", which is due to be published on 8 April. A copy will be placed in the House of Commons Library.I hope this is helpful.As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.The extract from the "Employment Gazette" has been placed in the Library.