§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to safeguard the employment of employees at the blind workshops in Stoke-on-Trent and if he will seek to improve the flow of orders to these and other sheltered workshops elsewhere.
§ Mr. Jim Lester[pursuant to his reply, 14 July 1980]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission (MSC), that there is only one workshop for the blind in Stoke-on-Trent. The MSC's responsibilities in respect of sheltered workshop employees relate to severely disabled people and at present there is no threat to the jobs of such people employed at that workshop. Obtaining sufficient orders has always been a problem for sheltered workshops. To assist with that problem the priority suppliers scheme, which is designed to help workshops to 474W compete for central Government orders, has been improved and a special organisation the sheltered employment procurement and consultancy service has been established. The duty of that service is to assist with the procurement of work and to seek to improve the efficiency of sheltered workshops so that they are better fitted to compete for contracts.