§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the percentage change in the 325W numbers of registered and unregistered disabled people placed in open and sheltered employment between January 1978 and January 1982; to what extent the change was due to any alteration in the number of disablement resettlement officers; and how the change compares, in percentage terms, with that for placings of able-bodied people during the same period.
§ Mr. AlisonInformation about the total number of placings of registered and unregistered disabled people into employment is not available because the number of disabled people who obtain employment through the self-service sections of jobcentres and employment offices cannot currently be separately identified.
However, the numbers of disabled people placed by the Manpower Services Commission's specialist resettlement service between January 1978 and January 1982 fell by 34.9 per cent. The comparable fall for placings of able-bodied people by jobcentres and employment office staff but excluding self-service was 10.2 per cent.
The change was unlikely to be due to any alteration in the numbers of disablement resettlement officers as the numbers in post remained fairly constant between about 520 and 530 during the period.