Remploy continues to search for suitable premises in York city centre. In the meantime, Remploy opened a facility on 9 April at York university, which is available to help all disabled jobseekers in York. Remploy is also working in partnership with Future Prospects, a local specialist provider, which means that any disabled jobseeker in York will be able to access Remploy services through Future Prospects’ city-centre facilities.
When the Minister made the case for closing the Remploy factory in York, she said that, if it closed, a city-centre jobshop would be established and that it would get 50 disabled people who were out of work—not former Remploy employees—into work each year. The facility on York university campus helps former workers from the York Remploy factory, but it is essential that a new facility is provided in the city centre as soon as possible; otherwise, the Government will not meet their target of getting 50 disabled people into work each year.
My hon. Friend has taken a keen interest in the situation in York, and I congratulate him on his advocacy for his local facility. There have been difficulties in trying to get premises in York city centre, not least due to access issues, but I assure my hon. Friend that Remploy is actively and positively looking for facilities in York city centre.
The Minister will be aware that the closure of the Remploy facility in York caused disabled people particular problems in getting back into work, but will she accept that the number of people in work in York has gone down hugely, particularly in the past three years? The latest closure was of an HMRC office. What plans does she have to find another facility, perhaps locally, so that those currently working there can continue to work in York?
With Remploy, we looked specifically at how we support disabled workers into employment. If we are talking about the generality of people who can access jobcentre facilities, that is a slightly different issue. I hope that the hon. Lady accepts that Remploy in York has been working very actively to support its disabled employees, who wanted to maintain themselves in employment. Outside this forum, I will be delighted to share with her some of the real success stories that have come out of York about former Remploy employees.
As my hon. Friend knows, I was very pleased that Remploy in my constituency was removed from the list of closures, but its continuing existence depends on it securing contracts. It supplies health care products to England and to Scotland but has no contracts in Wales. I made every effort to secure those contracts, but what else can the Government do to ensure that the factory, which is very important to our area given the high percentage of disabled people, continues in existence?
I thank my hon. Friend for championing her local Remploy factory and for supporting the modernisation programme. She is right—there was extreme disappointment that the Welsh health service did not renew its contract with her local Remploy factory. I can assure her, however, that Remploy’s management are still optimistic about getting more work not only into her Remploy factory but into Remploy factories across the country as part of its modernisation programme.