§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the reply by the Minister of State, Ministry of Defence, to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe on 5 July, Official Report, c. 38, when Her Majesty's Government expect to be able to make an estimate of the number of Service men who will be registrable as permanently and substantially handicapped as a result of the Falklands conflict; and whether the Government have similar information about Merchant Navy personnel.
§ Mr. RossiRegistration under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 is carried out by local authorities, which are also responsible for determining eligibility for admission to the register in individual cases. While it is not possible to predict how many disabled Service men and Merchant Navy personnel from the Falklands conflict may eventually be so registered, I am sure that authorities will consider as fully and sympathetically as possible all such requests made to them. I understand that within a few months the Ministry of Defence expects to be able to provide details of the categories of injuries sustained by Service personnel in the Falklands conflict.