Disabled People (Hansard, 28 April 1994)

§ Mrs. Fyfe
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of people with disabilities have jobs.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
The labour force survey asks people of working age if they currently have a health problem or disability which limits the kind of paid work they can do. Estimates based on answers to this question will include people with short-term health problems and disabilities as well as those registered as disabled.
The latest LFS estimates for summer 1993 show that of all such people of working age in Great Britain 34 per cent. were in employment, 10 per cent. were ILO unemployed and 56 per cent. where economically inactive.

§ Mr. Berry
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the proportion of employers complying with the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
Responsibility 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. Roger Berry, dated 28 April 1994: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about his estimate of the proportion of employers complying with the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944. As at 1 June 1993, the latest date for which information is available, there were 5,525 (18.9%) employers for whom my Placing, Assessment and Counselling Teams (PACTs) had records and who met or exceeded the 3% Quota. I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. Berry
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many referrals for employment rehabilitation were made by the Employment Service in the years 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
Responsibility 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. Roger Berry, dated 28 April 1994: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question, about how many referrals for employment rehabilitation were made by the Employment Service in the years 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94. The number of people who were referred to employment rehabilitation by the Employment Service and who started programmes in the years from 1991–92 to 1993–94 were:

Number

1991–92 12,149

1992–93 7,569

1993–94 9,532

288W
The figures for 1992–93 have been revised. The figures for 1992–93 published in the departmental Report contained a clerical error. A figure of 8,036 rehabilitation starts for 1992–93 was quoted in the department Report. This was a forecast outturn which appeared in previous documents, and should not have been given as the actual outturn. The actual outturn was 7,569.
I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. Berry
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many complaints under section 9(5) of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1994, relating to the dismissal of a registered disabled person without reasonable cause, have been(a) investigated by the Employment Service, (b) referred to a district advisory committee and (c) prosecuted by the Secretary of State in each year since 1964.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
Responsibility of 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. Roger Berry, dated 28 April 1994: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about how many complaints under section 9(5) of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 have been investigated by the Employment Service; how many have been referred to a district advisory committee; and how many employers have been prosecuted by the Secretary of State in each year since 1964. It may be helpful if I explain that the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 does not provide a statutory complaints procedure. However, registered disabled people who lose their jobs, and who think their employers may have infringed the 1944 Act in dismissing them, may complain to their local Disability Employment Adviser. Complaints which cannot be resolved satisfactorily by negotiation are thoroughly investigated and all the relevant factors are taken into account before a decision is taken. Employers cannot be prosecuted without the authority of the Secretary of State for Employment. Criminal proceedings cannot be commenced against an employer under the unreasonable discharge provisions of the Act unless the matter has first been referred to a local district advisory committee these bodies are (now known as Committees for the Employment of People with Disabilities—CEPDs) for a report. I regret that we do not have information on the number of complaints investigated. This information is not held centrally. However, the average annual number was probably very small. Similarly, information is not readily available on the number of such cases referred to CEPDs for a report for the full period since 1964. However, one case was referred to a CEPD in 1983, another in 1991, two in 1992 and one in 1993. Three employers have been prosecuted since 1964, for alleged offences against the unreasonable discharge provisions of the Act; there was one prosecution in 1964, one in 1973 and one in 1974. I hope this is helpful.