§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will list the percentage of registered disabled people employed by each Government Department at the latest available date; how many registered disabled people have been engaged by each Government Department in the past 12 months; and if he will make a further statement.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisThe numbers of registered disabled persons employed by Government Departments are collected once a year. The latest available figures, which show that the Civil Service employs over 14,000 registered disabled persons, relate to the year ending 1st June 1977 and were published in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Goole (Dr. Marshall) on 26th October 1977—[Vol. 986, c.687–8]. My hon. Friend will appreciate that the published figures relate only to those disabled people who are known to be registered. Many disabled people choose not to register and there is no obligation to disclose registration to the employer.
I regret that information about the numbers of registered disabled people engaged by each Government Department 30W in the past 12 months is not yet available. The numbers of registered disabled people employed by Government Departments as at 1st June 1978 are expected to be available by about the middle of September and I will then be able to provide details of the numbers of registered disabled people engaged by each Government Department during the 12 months ending 1st June 1978.
I will write to my hon. Friend when this information is available.