Specialist Disability Employment

Mark Lazarowicz Excerpts

Tuesday 10th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

The hon. Lady obviously wants to ensure that people in her constituency are well provided for, and I hope that she will be reassured by the comments I have made today about the employee support plan and the £8 million that the Government have put in place. Spennymoor is not in her constituency, but she will know that in the constituency of Bishop Auckland, where it is located, there are more than 13,000 disabled people, compared with the 40 disabled people who work in the factory. We have to work together to ensure that more disabled people are supported into work. We know that more than 500 disabled people in the area were supported into mainstream work by Remploy employment services in the last year alone. The jobs are there if people get the right support.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Edinburgh Remploy plant employs a number of people in my constituency. Obviously I am pleased that it is one for which bids are to be invited in the next stage of the process. Can the Minister give an indication of the time scale by which the process is to be completed, so that people can have some certainty about whether they will be in continued employment?

[Maria Miller]

To reiterate what I said earlier, through the summer process the bids being taken forward will be able to gather more of the detailed, commercially sensitive information that they require to be able to make a full and final offer. That process will be completed around the beginning of September, and I would of course be happy to keep hon. Members updated if they have an interest outside their constituencies.