---

Remploy

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for repeating the Statement. When I was at the TUC in September this year, there was a large demonstration by Remploy employees at a time when the Secretary of State, my right honourable friend Peter Hain, was attending congress. It was clear that the people concerned were suffering a great deal of shock at the possibility of Remploy modernisation and what could happen to their factories and jobs. In response to their demonstration, they were promised that there would be no compulsory redundancies. They were quite pleased about that, but all of us who have had anything to do with industrial relations know that ““no compulsory redundancies”” does not necessarily mean no redundancies. People will find that their jobs no longer exist if their factory closes. They have the double disadvantage not only of having no job because the factory has closed but of being disabled, so their transfer to mainstream employment may be particularly difficult for them because they have been used to working in a protected environment in a Remploy factory. I therefore welcome the detailed questions that have been put by noble Lords on the other side, particularly by the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, because the questions that he has raised are very important. I would like to ensure that there is a report back on how progress is being made on this reorganisation. When reorganisation is mentioned, people immediately wonder whether their job is safe. Very often it is not. The factory may close and there may be no job at all for them, except in another area to which they have to transfer. It may not be possible for them to transfer, and there is the emotional difficulty of losing the security that they have lived with for many years. This is a very serious matter for Remploy employees, which I am sure my noble friend understands.