HC Deb 15 July 1991 vol 195 cc54-5W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his Department's policy towards the training and guidance given to individual disablement advisory service managers; and what plans he has to improve this guidance and to ensure national consistency and quality.

Mr. Jackson

Disablement advisory service managers currently undertake a six-month nationally designed training programme which includes a mix of distance learning, off-the-job training modules, a development workshop and personal development projects.

Written guidance about operational procedures is provided centrally. Further guidance is provided by the Employment Service's head and regional offices as required.

The training programme is currently being examined and will be revised to reflect the planned changes, which my right hon. and learned Friend announced on 16 April, to the services provided by the Department for people with disabilities. The training programme for managers in the new service will continue to be delivered to nationally defined standards. Written guidance will also be revised to reflect the roles and functions of the new assessment and counselling teams.

Officials will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the training programme and will establish competencies to enable them to measure the effectiveness of those providing the service. They will also devise a set of qualitative performance measures to ensure that those providing the new arrangements deliver a more professional and coherent service for people with disabilities.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what appeal procedure is available to disabled people who are dissatisfied with the decisions of the local disablement advisory service manager regarding aids and equipment for employment.

Mr. Jackson

Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service executive agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the agency's chief executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his plans to restructure the disablement advisory service; how many staff were employed before the restructuring; and how many will be employed once it is completed.

Mr. Jackson

In a statement on 16 April my right hon. and learned Friend announced plans to restructure the way in which the Department provides employment services for people with disabilities. The plans include the formation of new, local teams incorporating the present functions of the disablement advisory service, disablement resettlement officers and the employment rehabilitation service's assessment teams. The aim of the new teams will be to provide a more professional, coherent service for people with disabilities. The service will operate to nationally defined standards, but in a way which will allow for the development of more flexibility in meeting local needs.

Information about the number of people employed within the disablement advisory service is not at present collected on a regular basis. The number of disablement advisory service personnel in post on 11 June 1990, the latest date for which information is available, was 181.

The resource currently used to provide the disablement advisory service will be transferred to the new teams. Added to it will be the resource currently used to provide the disablement resettlement officer service and the employment rehabilitation assessment service.

Officials are presently engaged in taking forward action to implement the new service.