§ Mr. Whitakerasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what percentage of firms now employ the required proportion of disabled people; what steps are being taken with regard to the remainder; and how many employable disabled people are at present unemployed.
§ Mr. FernyhoughThe percentage of firms with 20 or more employees which employed the required proportion of registered disabled persons on 31st May, 1968, the date of the latest count, was 46.3 per cent. Employers with less than their quota are not committing an offence but are subject to restrictions on the engagement of fit workers. They are contacted regularly to remind them of their quota obligations, and action is taken as the circumstances warrant where failure to comply with the provisions of the Act is revealed.
On 10th March, 1969, 69,758 registered disabled persons were registered as unemployed of whom 59,984 were considered to be capable of ordinary employment and 9,774 were considered unlikely 284W to be capable of employment except under special conditions.