§ 32. Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many registered disabled people were unemployed on the latest date for which figures are 193W available; what percentage of registered disabled workers this represents; and how these figures compare with the figures for general unemployment.
§ Mr. John GrantI am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that on 10th November 1977, 74,965, or 14.1 per cent. of registered disabled people, were unemployed in Great Britain. The corresponding figures for general unemployment were 1,437,963 or 6–2 per cent.
§ 40. Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of employers who are breaking the law by failing to employ a 3 per cent. quota of registered disabled people and taking on able-bodied workers without a Government permit; and how many prosecutions for breaches of the law have been instituted.
§ Mr. John GrantI am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that it is not possible to estimate how many below quota employers are breaking the law by taking on able-bodied workers without permit. That they are breaking the law can only be established by individual inspection of employers' records, followed by procedings in the courts. However, during the 1977–1978 inspection programme, inspections arebeing concentrated on those employers who are below quota and without permits. Since its inception, there have been 10 prosecutions for breaches of the 1944 Act.
§ Dr. Edmund Marshallasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether any guidance has been given that a specific proportion of persons employed under the job creation scheme should be registered disabled persons.
§ Mr. John Grant, pursuant to the reply—[Official Report, 6th December; Vol. 940, c. 641–3], gave the following information:
No, but I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that sponsors of projects approved under the job creation programme are subject to the same obligations under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 as other employers. It is the policy of the job creation programme to work closely with the resettlement service of the Employment 194W Service Agency and to encourage sponsors to include in their projects suitable unemployed disabled people, including those registered under the Act.