§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Minister for the Arts (1) what advice the Arts Council gives to its clients on fulfilling their statutory obligations to employ people with disabilities;
(2) what information he has on the expenditure of the Arts Council on developing policy on disability and the arts;
(3) how many people who are registered disabled have been employed by the Arts Council in each of the last five years;
(4) what information he has on the percentage of the Arts Council's training budget spent on arts and disability;
(5) what information he has on the provision of access for the disabled at the Arts Council's offices with regard to (a) ramps, (b) induction loops, (c) signers and (d) Braille signs;
(6) what information he has on the expenditure of the Arts Council on facilities for people with disabilities at its offices at 105 Piccadilly;
(2) what information he has on the number of job applications received by the Arts Council from people with disabilities in each of the past five years.
§ Mr. LuceAs I explained to the hon. Member in my reply earlier today, the Arts Council is committed to equal opportunities for disabled people both in its own employment and throughout the arts world. The council actively seeks to recruit staff with disabilities and currently employs six people who consider themselves to be disabled. This represents over 3 per cent. of its total staff. The council has also actively endorsed the same positive approach in its clients, as set out in the council's code of practice on the arts and disability. The council monitors the implementation of the code through its regular evaluation of client organisations. For more detailed information about the implementation of the council's policy at its headquarters and in the field, the hon. Member may wish to write to the chairman of the Arts Council.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Minister for the Arts(a) how many employees and (b) what percentage of employees of the Arts Council were registered disabled, in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Luce[holding answer 14 February 1989]: The Arts Council is committed to equal opportunities for disabled people and actively seeks to recruit staff with disabilities. As part of this policy, it has conducted a number of surveys amongst its staff. Since these began in December 1986, only one employee has been found to be formally 517W registered as disabled. However, six existing employees consider themselves to be disabled although they have chosen not to register. This represents over 3 per cent. of the Arts Council's total staff.