§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled people were on the disabled persons register in May of each year from 1961 to 1978; how many were employed and how many unemployed; what percentage of the total working population was represented by the number registered; and what percentage of firms was satisfying the disablement employment quota at each date.
§ Mr. John Grant,pursuant to his reply (Official Report, 29th June 1978; Vol. 952, c. 643], gave the following information:
I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that no comprehensive information is available about the number of registered disabled people in employment. Theoretically it should be possible to obtain this information by subtracting the number of registered disabled people unemployed from the total 31W number on the register. However, it is not possible to give a precise estimate because the register can never be fully
Year Number on the register of disabled persons in April Number of unemployed registered disabled people in May Number of people on the disabled persons register as a percentage of the total working population Number and percentage of firms fulfilling their quota as at 1st June (1) (2) (3) (4) 1961 … 666,454 51,880 2.69 40,260(61.4) 1962* … 656,402 51,143 2.62 21,204(57.9) 1963* … 653,362 61,034 2.59 20,458 (57.9) 1964 … 655,878 54,070 2.59 35,489(54.8) 1965 … 658,925 46,522 2.58 35,323 (53.2) 1966 … 654,483 43,956 2.55 33,915(51.7) 1967 … 655,379 57,808 2.58 31,156(47.7) 1968 … 654,788 64,907 2.59 29,584(46.3) 1969 … 645,545 67,611 2.55 28,152(44.5) 1970 … 634,336 71,847 2.52 27,168 (42.7) 1971 … 620,691 80,915 2.49 26,155(41.8) 1972 … 610,107 88,939 2.47 25,385(42.2) 1973 … 597,305 74,253 2.38 24,089(41.6) 1974 … 574,640 61,506 2.29 22,107 (40.0) 1975 … 557,217 66,771 2.21 20,747(39.1) 1976 … 543,064 75,280 2.13 19,632(38.7) 1977 … 532,402 74,113 2.07 18,696(37.1) 1978 … 494,877 69,577 † † * In 1962 and 1963 a survey was made in respect of all firms with more than 500 staff but only a selection of firms with less than 500 staff, but which nevertheless had a quota obligation. The figures in column 4 above, for the years 1962 and 1963, are therefore percentages based on the number of firms reviewed in those years and not on all firms subject to quota. † Not yet available.