§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list by disability for each month since December 1996 the number of people who sought Access to Work support in the first six weeks of their employment. [45031]
§ Mr. Alan Howarth[holding answer 9 June 1998]: 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 for a reply to be given.
Letter from Peter Collins to Mr. Mark Oaten, dated 10 June 1998:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question about the number of people who sought Access to Work support in the first six weeks of their employment since December 1996, listed by disability. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr. Lewis as Chief Executive of the Employment Agency.I am afraid that we do not hold information centrally on the number of people who seek Access to Work support in the first six weeks of employment broken down by disability. However, recent research carried out for the Employment Service in 1997 has provided an analysis by disability of people applying for Access to 708W Work support. The results are set out in the attached table. It is based on a sample of 492 Access to Work applicants who applied for support between 1 February and 31 May 1997.I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful.
Clients receiving Access to Work support by type of disability1 Percentage Problems or disabilities connected with the arms or hands 17 Problems or disabilities connected with the legs or feet 21 Problems or disabilities connected with the back or neck 29 Difficulty in seeing 18 Difficulty in hearing 18 Severe disfigurement —2 Skin conditions, allergies 2 Chest or breathing problems, asthma, bronchitis 3 Heart, blood pressure or blood circulation problems 2 Stomach, liver, kidney or digestive problems 1 Diabetes —2 Depression, bad nerves or anxiety 1 Epilepsy 3 Specific learning difficulties 3 Severe learning difficulties (mental handicap) 1 Mental illness or suffer from phobia, panics or other nervous diseases 1 Progressive illness not included elsewhere 7 Other health problems or disabilities 17 1 IES Survey of ATW applicants, 1997 2 Not sufficient numbers with this category of disability to provide a percentage