§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in regard to the following electronic devices for handicapped people: POSSUM, ELKOSCAN, CARBA-LINGUADUC, MAC, SPUNK, AUTOSCAN, MAVIS, PET, APPLE, RM 380z and VOTRAX, he will list the following information (a) the approximate date when it was first produced or published, (b) whether the device has been physically evaluated by technical officers, (c) whether it has been evaluated with individual handicapped people by his Department, (d) whether his Department is prepared to supply the device, and in what circumstances, (e) how many requests for supply have been made and (f) how many requests have been rejected.
§ Mr. PrenticeThese items are not all electronic devices specifically for handi-
50W
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe information requested is not available in respect of the years 1948 to 1958 inclusive. The following table gives the figures for each year from 1959.
capped people. Possum and Carba-Linguaduc are trade names covering ranges of devices, while Pet and Apple are essentially home computer systems.
This Department does not have the information at (a). Various items from the Possum range have been evaluated by scientific and technical officers of the Department and the Possum PSU3 environmental control system was evaluated with handicapped people.
The items within the Possum range which have been evaluated and approved are available on the National Health Service. There are well-established procedures for the supply of equipment outside this range. Assessment of the suitability of these aids for severely disabled patients is a matter for professional experts. The number of cases considered is not reported but there are known to be about 1,500 Possum equipments in use in the United Kingdom.