§ 2.51 p.m.
§ Baroness Lane-FoxMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made with the manual classification of impairments, disabilities and handicaps published for trial purposes in accordance with a resolution of the 29th World Health Assembly in 1976.
§ Lord GlenarthurMy Lords, the definitive version of the classification was published by the World Health Organisation in Geneva in 1980 under the title "International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps". Since then it has been translated into several languages and experiments in its application are being carried out in a number of countries. It was also the basic definition used in the World Programme of Action for Disabled People produced by the United Nations at the end of the International Year of Disabled People, and in the Council of Europe's own document on Information systems on Impaired, Disabled and Handicapped People, published in 1982.
§ Baroness Lane-FoxMy Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for that informative Answer. However, can he say whether the Government will follow this form of categorisation in calculating benefits, services and care that in future provision shall be based upon the extent of disability rather than the cause?
§ Lord GlenarthurNo, my Lords, I cannot give my noble friend that assurance. As my noble friend knows, the problem of classification is somewhat complicated. I could read out a full definition but it might be too lengthy. However, I can give my noble friend a copy of it. Perhaps I can illustrate the situation by an example. If someone is short-sighted he has an impairment; if his sight can be completely corrected by glasses, then that is all he has—an impairment. If his sight cannot be completely corrected then he also has a disability. If, despite that, the disability does not affect his life-style, then he is only disabled and not handicapped. If, however, he requires good sight to obtain the job that he would like, then he is also handicapped. I hope that example shows that it is not easy to make the classification for which the noble Baroness asks.
§ Baroness Lane-FoxMy Lords, perhaps I might pursue the matter further with the Minister. Indeed, I did appreciate the points that he made in answer to my supplementary question. But what I really wish to know is whether the Government plan to take up these methods of categorisation in listing the different forms of benefit, services and care for the different forms of disability. impairment, handicap or whatever. In that way we shall be able to get to the important point of treating the extent of disability rather than the cause.
§ Lord GlenarthurNo, my Lords, I cannot say that we can adopt that particular definition. As I have said, it is difficult to employ the classification to define a disabled population, particularly for the purposes of legislation. To say whether or not someone should have a particular disablement benefit will depend so much upon the individual, his circumstances and if he is able and willing to make use of aids, et cetera, that 485 relate to whether or not a particular definition is suitable to him or to anybody else.
§ Lord DrumalbynMy Lords, are these resolutions mandatory in any way? Are they binding?
§ Lord GlenarthurNo, my Lords, they are not binding resolutions.