§ Mr. CawseyTo ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what proportion of Palace of Westminster staff are registered disabled. [25662]
§ Mr. KirkwoodFollowing the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (which came into effect in December 1996) the concept of registered disabled was discontinued. The House, therefore, no longer records the information requested.
159WHowever, the House of Commons Disabled Persons' Officer has recently conducted a review and her recommendations include inviting jobholders to say on revised annual appraisal forms whether they consider themselves to have a disability and if so to discuss either with their line manager or with their Departmental Disabled Persons Officer any adjustments which might be needed to help them. The recommendations of the review are currently being considered.
The House of Commons Commission does not have responsibility for other staff in the Palace (e.g. Members' staff, the Metropolitan Police or House of Lords staff).