HC Deb 16 June 1988 vol 135 cc309-12W
Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what further steps he proposes to take to enable Remploy to increase its work force, its range of products and its subsidy.

Mr. Lee

The longer-term arrangements for supporting people with severe disabilities in employment, including the support given to Remploy, are among the matters to be considered within the internal review of the assistance offered by my Department to people with disabilities announced in March. We aim to complete this review as quickly as possible this year.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when was the last occasion on which he visited Remploy factories to discuss subsidies, pay, bonuses and working conditions.

Mr. Lee

I welcome the opportunity to visit Remploy factories whenever possible to meet both management and work force, and most recently visited the Burnley factory on 26 February. Discussions on the matters raised by the right hon. Member are generally held at a national level. I met members of the consortium of Remploy trades unions on 28 September 1987 to discuss pay issues and met the board of directors on 15 June to discuss a range of issues.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what special provision is made in Remploy for those severely disabled people who may not be able to participate in bonus schemes.

Mr. Lee

By effective placement and training Remploy has increased the number of severely disabled workers who earn bonus from 86 per cent. of the disabled work force in 1980 to 98 per cent. in 1988. Those who are unable to achieve the bonus standard receive the basic Remploy wage.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of Remploy workers who lose money, compared with benefits, by working.

Mr. Lee

This information is not available.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled people are seeking work with Remploy but are unable to get jobs.

Mr. Lee

Information on the number of severely disabled people seeking work with Remploy is not held. The company recruits and trains between 1,000 and 1,200 new employees each year.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average cost to the Government of each Remploy worker who benefits from the subsidy.

Mr. Lee

In 1987–88 the average cost to the Government of subsidising each severely disabled worker employed by Remploy, excluding loans to the company in respect of capital expenditure, was £5,529.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to provide new, modern skills for those Remploy workers who require them.

Mr. Lee

This is essentially a matter for the management of Remploy to determine within the resources available to it, taking account of the characteristics of those people with severe disabilities in its employment.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the cost to the Government in terms of benefits which would have to be paid if all Remploy workers become unemployed.

Mr. Lee

A reliable estimate could be made only if information were available about the entitlement to benefit of each Remploy worker. However, it is estimated, using general survey information, that the cost to the Government would have been of the order of £27.5 million if all the severely disabled people employed by Remploy had remained unemployed and claimed benefits during the whole of the financial year 1987–88. This estimate is based on information about the characteristics of severely disabled people in employment collected in 1986. It does not take account of changes in benefits introduced since that date.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are in supervisory jobs in Remploy and how many of them are disabled.

Mr. Lee

Comprehensive information is not available, but 283 (42 per cent.) of the 667 supervisory staff in Remploy factories are severely disabled.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are in management jobs in Remploy; and how many of them are disabled.

Mr. Lee

Comprehensive information is not available, but four of Remploy's 94 factory managers are severely disabled.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled workers are employed by Remploy; in which areas they are located; and what is their basic weekly wage.

Mr. Lee

On 31 March 1988 Remploy employed 9,042 severely disabled workers. This figure has been broken down into employment service regions as follows:

Region Number of Severely Disabled Workers at 31 March 1988
Northern 920
Yorkshire and Humberside 1,104
East Midlands and Eastern 653
London and south-cast 990
South-west 516
Wales 1,492
West midlands 646
North-west 1,647
Scotland 1,074

The basic weekly wage is £102.43 for workers in London and £90 elsewhere. With skill and productivity payments, average weekly earnings are £121.86 in London and £109.43 elsewhere.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he next intends to meet the management and trade unionists of Remploy to discuss the present subsidy.

Mr. Lee

I shall continue to meet the management of Remploy, and representatives of the trades unions with which the company negotiates, as and when the need arises.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the annual subsidy to Remploy for each of the past 10 years; if he will increase the present subsidy to enable Remploy to pay higher wages; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lee

The annual subsidy (excluding loans for capital expenditure) to Remploy for each of the past 10 years is given in the table:

£000
1978–79 22,530
1979–80 27,263
1980–81 32,235
1981–82 39,195
1982–83 42,578
1983–84 44,572
1984–85 47,825
1985–86 48,415
1986–87 47,770
1987–88 49,726

In the past three years pay settlements for Remploy"s manual work force have been above the annual rate of inflation. I am informed that Remploy's manual work force has voted by a substantial majority to accept a pay offer negotiated between the company and the consortium of Remploy trades unions earlier in the year, operative from 1 April.

It is estimated that average weekly earnings of Remploy workers outside London have risen from £83.03 in April 1984 to £109.43 in April 1988. Workers at Remploy's London factories receive higher rates of pay. The new pay arrangements will be operated within the subsidy for 1988–89.