HC Deb 21 June 1989 vol 155 cc184-5W
Mr. Strang

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how are the processes of assessment and rehabilitation differentiated within the work of the employment rehabilitation service.

Mr. Nicholls

The assessment process carried out by the employment rehabilitation service results in individual action plans being agreed with clients. For some clients the agreed action plan can include subsequent attendance on a course of employment rehabilitation which is a longer process and normally modular in form.

Mr. Strang

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many clients have passed through the assessment process of the employment rehabilitation service over the last two years; and how many through the rehabilitation process.

Mr. Nicholls

In 1987–88 the employment rehabilitation service helped about 16,000 people in total. About 13,400 attended assessment courses and 12,200 attended rehabilitation courses. In 1988–89 the ERS helped about 26,000 people in total. About 25,300 attended assessment courses and 11,800 attended rehabilitation courses. In each year a number of people attended both types of courses.

Mr. Strang

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many organisations other than the employment rehabilitation service have the facilities to provide residential employment rehabilitation services to disabled people such as are currently provided by Egham and Preston employment rehabilitation centres.

Mr. Nicholls

There are a number of organisations with facilities which potentially could be used for the provision of residential rehabilitation services as currently provided by Egham and Preston employment rehabilitation centres.

My Department has contracted with a number of residential establishments for the provision of services and is conducting negotiations with others.

Mr. Strang

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many vacancies currently exist in the employment rehabilitation service for each of the following grades(a) occupational psychologists, (b) social workers, (c) ERC nurses and (d) physiotherapists; and how many staff in each group are in post.

Mr. Nicholls

The information sought in the first part of the question is not available in the form required.

The number of staff in post by grade at 8 June 1989 is:

Number
(a) occupational psychologists 63
(b) social workers 28.5
(c) ERC nurses 24
(d) physiotherapists 5

Mr. Strang

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what publications are available which give guidance to training agents and training managers on the services provided by the employment rehabilitation service; and how training agents and managers can obtain copies of such guidance.

Mr. Nicholls

In addition to references in the training agents' and training managers' handbooks, the services of the employment rehabilitation service have been outlined to training agents and training managers through the Training Agency publication "Employment Training News" and through the publicity leaflets of the employment rehabilitation service.