§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current incidence of unemployment among employable disabled people seeking work; and how the figure compares with that for each of the five preceding years.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithThe proportion of those people who have chosen to register under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, 1944, who were unemployed on 13th March, 1972, was 14.9 per cent. The figures for the five preceding years were:
Per cent. 8th March, 1971 … … 12.6 9th March, 1970 … … 11.3 10th March, 1969 … … 10.7 11th March, 1968 … … 10.1 14th March, 1967 … … 8.9
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now make a statement on his proposals for improving the employment opportunities of disabled people.
NUMBERS REGISTERED AS WHOLLY UNEMPLOYED, AND NUMBERS OF NOTIFIED VACANCIES REMAINING UNFILLED, IN SCOTLAND ANALYSED BY COUNTIES AND COUNTIES OF CITIES Wholly unemployed Unfilled vacancies Males Females Males Females Part 1: Counties Zetland … … 219 50 34 62 Orkney … … 134 35 11 8 Caithness and Sutherland … … 973 312 25 66 Inverness-shire, Ross and Cromarty … 3,467 844 173 255 Argyll … … 1,205 478 154 191 Moray and Nairn … … 781 343 48 68 Banffshire … … 648 124 15 46 Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire … 4,222 1,114 137 189 Angus … … 7,035 2,352 142 258 Perthshire … … 1,386 259 175 239 Fife and Kinross-shire … … 6,007 2,071 252 105 Edinburgh and Lothians … … 14,895 2,805 636 712 Stirling and Clackmannanshire … … 4,762 1,782 131 171 Dunbartonshire … … 6,073 1,545 91 84 Renfrewshire … … 7,603 2,663 154 122 Lanarkshire … … 14,913 5,384 277 195 Ayrshire and Bute … … 6,902 2,375 180 218 Dumfriesshire … … 1,431 386 66 60 Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire … … 915 341 22 25 Berwickshire, Peebleshire, Selkirk and Roxburghshire 919 250 138 188 Part 2: Counties of Cities Glasgow City … … 32,670 5,576 791 1,116 Edinburgh* … … 8,904 1,333 523 610 Aberdeen* … … 2,904 606 111 156 Dundee* … … 5,580 1,861 87 208 *Included also in the appropriate country figures in part 1.
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The vacancy statistics relate only to notified vacancies remaining unfilled and do not purport to measure the total unsatisfied demand for labour.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithEmployment opportunities for disabled people will substantially improve only when there is an upturn in the employment situation generally. However, I am now studying the review recently carried out within my Department of its employment policies and services for disabled people and I will, as soon as possible, be discussing with the National Advisory Council on the Employment of the Disabled and with the other bodies concerned whether any changes are necessary.