§ 21. Mr. Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled persons are registered as unemployed in the Stirling and Falkirk employment exchange areas.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithOn 6th December last, 407 registered disabled people were unemployed in the Stirling and Falkirk area.
§ 46. Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of registered disabled persons is unemployed at present; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithThe proportion of those people who have chosen to register under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act of 1944 who were unemployed on 10th January was 14.6 per cent.
An improvement in job opportunities for disabled people depends upon an upturn in employment generally, but there are signs that the measures which I announced in the House on 25th March last year are having a beneficial effect. More than 60,000 jobs have been found 140W for people registered under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act. It should also be remembered that there are many substantially handicapped people in employment who prefer not to register under the Act and so are not reflected in the figures I have quoted.