HC Deb 26 May 1993 vol 225 cc620-1W
Mr. Alex Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to amend the 1984 Manpower Services Commission code of practice; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. McLoughlin

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the employment service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange a reply to be given.

Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 26 May 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 her about what plans she has to amend the 1984 Manpower Services Commission Code of Good Practice. This is something which falls within the responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency. The Code of Good Practice has been well received by employers since it was first introduced, and is still requested in large numbers. At this stage there are no plans to develop a new Code, but my Agency would, of course, consult widely should we decide to do so. You may wish to know that we have recently reprinted the Code as part of a wider exercise to update Employment Service disability service literature. There have been no changes of substance to the advice and recommendations made in the Code but we have taken the opportunity to introduce descriptions of the new restructured services provided by the Employment Service to disabled people and employers. We have also included the new disability symbol which has the words "Positive about Disabled People". Some addresses have been corrected and some slight adjustments made to the text used where it had become outdated. I enclose a copy of the reprinted Code which I hope you will find useful. 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.