Programme, and provides support to unemployed people with disabilities within its mainstream services. The ES has joint responsibility with the Benefits Agency for administering employment-related benefits.

*The Department of Social Security which hosts the Minister for Disabled People and the National Disability is responsible for promoting and implementing policy relating to the DDA and all benefit policies.⁶

COMPLAINTS AND REDRESS

An employee with a disability who alleges discrimination against an employer can file a complaint with an industrial tribunal. When a complaint is filed, a conciliation officer from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) will try to settle the case. The main function of the ACAS is to provide factual information regarding the DDA and assistance related to its effects on industrial relations practices and procedures.⁷ If the conciliation effort does not succeed, the industrial tribunal will provide a remedy, which can be an award of unlimited compensation. Unfortunately, the industrial tribunal has no power to issue binding orders or injunctions to require employers to adopt non-discriminatory policies or practices.⁸

A POLICY OF PERSUASION

In the UK, the basic policy is to promote a voluntary commitment on behalf of employers to hiring and retaining people with disabilities. This is not, however, supported by financial rewards or incentives. The government expects employers to hire people with disabilities because it makes good business sense. The primary line of persuasion is that disabled workers should be valued for ability not disability and that they are potentially more valuable to an employer than people without disabilities.⁹ Materials from the Employment Services emphasise that in excluding a person with a disability, an employer could be missing the best person for the job. By retaining disabled persons in employment, an employer benefits from their skills and experience and saves hiring new workers.¹⁰

All of the policies and programmes described in this section cover people with mental health problems or a disability due to a mental illness. However, the effectiveness of the policies and their implementing agencies at encouraging employment and re-integration into the workforce of people with mental health problems is unclear. The unemployment rate for people with mental health problems is approximately 90%.¹¹ This is an indication that their employment goals have not been effectively addressed.

The role of government: health policy

The Health of the Nation (HOTN) strategy was the central plank of health policy for mental health services in the UK from 1992 to 1997 and was the context for the planning of NHS services. It represented the first explicit attempt by government to provide a strategic approach to improving the overall health of the population.¹²

In July 1999, the British Government put forward the first comprehensive government plan to tackle the five main causes of ill-health, namely cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke, accidents, and mental illness. The plan was introduced in the White paper, "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation." In the area of mental illness, by the year 2010, the government aims to reduce the death rate from suicide by at least a fifth.¹³ The White Paper, "the National Contract for Mental Health", recognises levels of actions, such as social and economic, environmental, and personal behaviour, and servic-