§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Paymaster General if he is satisfied with the level of quota compliance in the public sector, particularly with regard to the figures to be published in the Employment Gazette; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LeeWe are firmly committed to encouraging all employers, including those in the public sector, to employ more people with disabilities, both registered and unregistered. The key to success is continuous education and persuasion to promote the adoption and implementation of constructive policies and practices towards the employment of people with disabilities. We seek to apply such policies in central Government and will be continually striving to improve our performance.
We shall be considering further the role of the quota scheme in this overall approach of education and persuasion when we have the results of the research into the numbers and characteristics of people with disabilities in the working population, which we are commissioning on the advice of the working group set up by the Manpower Services Commission to examine ways of improving the effectiveness of the quota scheme.