HC Deb 20 October 1975 vol 898 cc16-8W
Mr. Beith

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total cost, in the last year for which figures are available, of servicing and meeting the expenses of disablement resettlement committees.

Mr. Harold Walker

I assume that the hon. Gentleman is referring to disablement advisory committees, which were set up under Section 17 of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 and whose function is to advise and assist in matters relating to the employment of disabled people in their districts and to make recommendations and reports to my right hon. Friend on matters referred to them under the Act.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that precise figures as to the total cost of servicing committees are not kept since their administration is part of the wider duties of Employment Service Agency Officers concerned with resettlement.

The best available estimate of the cost of servicing the committees is £150,000 in staff and administrative expenses for the current year, plus £9,000, for direct meeting expenses. The actual figure for direct meeting expenses for the 10 months from 1st October 1974, when the Agency was set up, to 31st July 1975, was £6,558.

Mr. Beith

asked the Secretary of State for Employment to what extent disablement resettlement committees contribute to the work of resettlement; and in what respects.

Mr. Harold Walker

Disablement Advisory Committees, DACs, are local bodies set up under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 to advise the Secretary of State on the working of the Act in their areas and on general and particular problems. The DACs set up special panels of five members each, with prescribed executive functions, to make recommendations and reports on specific matters referred to them under the Act in connection with applications of individual people for admission to and removal from the Disabled Persons Register, obligations of employers and applications from them for permits to employ people not registered as disabled. Additionally, panels give advice about employment in individual cases where doubt exists as to the most satisfactory form of employment for a disabled person who has been unemployed over a considerable period.

There are at present over 200 DACs in existence. Each DAC consists of an independent chairman and an equal number of employers' and workers' representatives, together with a number of other people with experience of resettlement problems, including medical practitioners. Members are unpaid, except for medical practitioners attending in order to give professional advice to panels in individual cases, when they are paid a sessional fee.