§ Sir I. Fraserasked the Minister of Labour if he will state the classes of articles, for Government and public use, which are to be set aside for production in the sheltered workshops for the disabled; and whether contracts or subcontracts will be made available to voluntary undertakings operating non-profit making sheltered workshops.
§ Mr. IsaacsI should deprecate any attempt to delimit the classes of articles for Government and public use to be produced in special workshops for the disabled. It will be for the Disabled Persons Corporation to decide what articles in demand for the public service can best be produced in their various workshops and when these are ready to start production arrangements will be made for orders to be placed. Similar arrangements will apply to other organisations operating such workshops on a non-profit basis.
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§ Sir I. Fraserasked the Minister of Labour the estimated number of disabled persons eligible for registration under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act and the number of such persons who have applied for registration to date; and whether he intends to give wider publicity to the Act and benefits accruing through registration and afford special facilities for registration at employment exchanges.
§ Mr. IsaacsIt is not possible to give an estimate of the total number of persona eligible for registration under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act. The number in fact registered in the first eight weeks up to 19th November last was 96,796. Further publicity is being given to the scheme and all possible facilities will be provided for registration at employment exchanges.
§ Sir I. Fraserasked the Minister of Labour whether arrangements are in hand for a return by employers showing the numbers of disabled employees; if he will state the date on which quotas are to be imposed; whether he is in a position to announce the occupations which are to be designated and reserved exclusively for disabled persons; and whether the Disabled Persons Employment Corporation has secured sites or premises for the establishment of sheltered workshops and in what regions.
§ Mr. IsaacsThe Act gives me no power to call for such returns and they are unnecessary as the numbers of registered disabled persons in employment are otherwise available. I propose very shortly to announce the date of the introduction of the Quota Scheme and to introduce the Designated Employments Scheme after the Quota Scheme has been launched. In reply to the third part of the Question, the Disabled Persons Employment Corporation are in process of securing sites or premises for the establishment of workshops in various parts of the country.