§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his policy towards the recommendations of the "Disability Manifesto: An Agenda for the 1990s", a copy of which has been sent to him, which relate to his Department; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. JacksonThe Department is committed to giving people with disabilities the opportunity to participate fully in training and employment. We therefore provide a wide 155W range of specialist schemes and services to help them gain and keep employment and develop within it. People with disabilities also have access to the full range of non-specialist employment and training services, which will include the new work experience programme that my right hon. and learned Friend announced recently, employment action. In many cases access to non-specialist provision allows for reduced eligibility or length of stay rules and special help for people with disabilities.
We are already giving careful consideration to ways of improving the effectiveness of this provision for people with disabilities. Last year the Department issued two consultative documents that considered all the employment and training services we provide for people with disabilities and put forward many proposals for improvement. We received responses from a wide range of organisations and individuals, including almost all of the organisations that produced the disability manifesto. Responses are still being considered on some issues, but we have announced our first decisions. These concerned improvements in the specialist services provided by the Employment Service and in our local and national advisory machinery. We will announce other decisions as soon as they are reached, including any changes to the legislative framework.
My right hon. and learned Friend also launched the new symbol that is currently being successfully promoted by the Employment Service to encourage and help employers to commit themselves publicly on a voluntary basis to good policies and practices in employing people with disabilities.
In addition, from April this year we have given unemployed people with disabilities priority access to four of our main employment and training programmes. They are now one of the key groups for entry onto employment training, the enterprise allowance scheme, job clubs and the job interview guarantee scheme. Training and enterprise councils and the Employment Service will ensure that people with disabilities who are unemployed will he given this priority recognition. My right hon. And learned Friend has written to TEC chairmen about this priority and special guidance has been issued about people with special training needs, including people with disabilities, so as to help TECs plan and implement their strategies for taking action. The increased priority will help strengthen the opportunity for people with disabilities to participate in the labour market.