§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Paymaster General if he will make a statement on the analysis of statistics collected to monitor the promotion of the code of good practice on the employment of disabled people.
§ Mr. LangStatistical and other information monitoring the promotion of the code of good practice on the employment of disabled people is collected by the Manpower Services Commission's disablement advisory service. Quarterly returns show that the disablement advisory service teams are promoting the code to employers in their areas by a variety of means, including presentations to individuals and groups of employers, mailshot exercises, and local press and broadcast 181W coverage. In many parts of the country, considerable help is given by local committees for the employment of disabled people. So far, well over 60,000 copies of the code have been distributed to employers and others. Promotion of the code will continue to be a priority task for the disablement advisory service.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Paymaster General what results he has so far received from the monitoring of employers' reactions to the code of good practice on the employment of disabled people.
§ Mr. LangIndications so far are that employers welcome the code, like its style, and find it easy to use. Employers are using it both as a reference document and as a programme for action. When the code was launched in November 1984, it was recognised that employers had to be given time to turn the code's guidance into actual practice in the workplace. An in-depth evaluation of the extent to which employers are making use of the code will begin later this year.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Paymaster General when he expects the Manpower Services Commission to report on the further research it is carrying out on ways in which disabled people might be encouraged to register as disabled; and who is represented on the working party established to do this.
§ Mr. LangI expect to receive by the end of April the Manpower Services Commission's proposal for research into questions related to the quota scheme. Subject to looking at the details of these proposals I expect results to be available in the second half of 1987. The National Advisory Council on the employment of disabled people and also members of the commission's working group which proposed the research will be consulted about its design and its results.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Paymaster General what is the latest information available on how many employers are subject to the disabled persons quota; of these, what percentages meet the quota; what percentages were issued with permits within the last 12 months and what percentages were issued with bulk permits; and what percentages were below their quota but had not been issued with permits.
§ Mr. LangOn 1 June 1985, the latest date for which information is available, 35,481 employers were subject to the provisions of the quota of which 28.1 per cent. employed the full quota of registered disabled people. A further 52.7 per cent. of this total were below quota but had been issued with permits during the previous 12 months, 52.1 per cent. with bulk permits. The remaining 19.2 per cent. of employers were below quota and had not been issued with permits. However, these were not necessarily breaking the law unless they had engaged other than registered disabled people in the period.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Paymaster General which organisations applied for funding under the scheme announced in April 1985 established to encourage voluntary organisations to assist disabled people in finding and retaining employment; and which received funding and for how much.
182W
§ Mr. LangTwenty three voluntary organisations have applied for funding under the pilot employment initiatives for disabled people scheme. Of these, three applications to date have been approved in principle by the Manpower Services Commission, and others are under consideration. No contracts have yet been finalised. Applications are treated as confidential until contracts are agreed.