§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if he will ensure during the United Kingdom presidency that implementation of United Nations Standard Rules for the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities is subject to annual review; [19676]
(2) what arrangements exist to monitor progress towards implementing the UN Standard Rules for the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. [19681]
§ Mr. Alan Howarth[holding answer 8 December 1997]Progress towards implementing the UN Standard Rules for the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities is monitored by the UN Special Rapporteur on Disability, Bendt Lindqvist, whose work the Government support.
519W
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment who will be involved in the review of the threshold exempting employers with fewer than 20 employees from the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [19678]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe review of the exemption provision includes a consultation exercise to gather views and evidence from a wide range of disability organisations, particularly those representing the interests of disabled people in employment or seeking employment, and employer organisations, especially those representing the interests of small firms, as well as individual disabled people and employers. The review will include meetings with interested parties.
The Government will consider the responses to the consultation carefully before deciding whether the threshold should be lowered to extend the Act's employment rights to more disabled employees and job applicants.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what will be the time scale of the review of the 20 employee threshold in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [19677]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthSection 7 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 requires that a review of the effects of the small employer exemption threshold must be completed within nine months. I announced such a review on 3 December 1997 and expect that it will be completed in the late Spring of 1998. Any change to the threshold has to be made within one year of the review commencing.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment whether he will ensure that research into the impact of European economic policy on disabled people is commissioned during the UK presidency. [19682]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthDfEE officials have provided the European Commission with details of research undertaken across Government into disability issues. This information will be used by the Commission in conjunction with similar reports from the other member states to identify where there is a significant need for co-ordinated research at a European level. It is not yet possible to say which subjects, if any, the Commission will identify as suitable for this kind of treatment but no areas have been ruled out.
The Department has an extensive and continuing programme of disability research which addresses current priorities. The Department routinely publishes the results of the research it commissions in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.