§ Mr. IllsleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what considerations underlie the prohibition on local authorities which operate their own sheltered placement schemes from offering further placements where funding is available from other charitable sources.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Eric Insley, dated 21 July 1993:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to him about local authority Sheltered Placement Schemes (SPS). This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
I understand your question refers to local authorities operating their own sheltered placement schemes, and their role in acting as a host organisation for SPS workers.
Under the rules of SPS voluntary organisations cannot normally sponsor SPS workers into a host which is a local authority with statutory powers to provide sheltered employment. The purpose of this rule is to encourage local authorities to play an active role in developing Sheltered Placement Schemes. However, when a local authority has filled all its own allocation of places and we are unable to allocate additional places to the local authority a voluntary body with unfilled SPS places may then sponsor a place hosted by a local authority.
I hope this is helpful.
As decided by the Administrative Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the library of the House.