To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his Department's current estimate of the proportion of businesses which are exempted from the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 due to the exemption under the legislation for employers with fewer than 20 employees. [19352]

Around 95 per cent. of private employers have fewer than 20 employees and are therefore exempt from the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. There are also many businesses which have no employees and are therefore not covered by the Act's employment provisions.On 3 December, I announced the beginning of a review of the exemption provision, including a wide-ranging consultation exercise.