§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number and percentage of disabled people employed by his Department and associated agencies over the past five years; and what are the projected figures for the next five years.
§ Mr. FreemanThe number and percentage of registered disabled staff employed by the Ministry of Defence and its agencies over the past five years are set out below. Projected figures are not available.
Date Number of registered disabled staff1 Percentage of total Date civilian staff2 1 July 1990 1,209 0.9 1 July 1991 1,163 0.9 1 July 1992 1,103 0.8 1 July 1993 1,366 1.1 1 July 1994 1,317 1.1 1 Part-time staff counted as half units. 2 In recent surveys, 3.7 per cent. of total MOD civilian staff recorded some form of disability for which they are not registered.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the budget allocated by his Department and associated agencies for each of the next five years; and how many staff or staff hours equivalent have been allocated to achieve the objectives of the programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people.
§ Mr. FreemanResponsibility for achieving the objectives of the programme for action is widely spread among staff in the Ministry of Defence. Those involved include: policy staff, personnel managers, trainers, building managers, welfare officers, a network of assistant disabled persons liaison officers and line managers and colleagues of staff with disabilities. It is therefore impossible to quantify the number of staff hours expended on this work. For the same reason, it is not possible to identify the costs involved.