§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make it his policy to redefine the term blind so that a person who is unable to pass the vision test associated with the driving test should be regarded as being unable to do any work for which eyesight is essential.
§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration he has given to abandoning the system of two categories of registrable visual disability.
§ Mr. MossThe system of distinguishing between blindness and partial sight assists in service planning as the needs of blind and partially sighted people are not identical. Fewer people might be willing to register with social services departments if doing so meant they were required to accept the label "blind". We have no plans to change the present system.
§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has to instruct Department of Health officials to issue new guidelines to approve consultant ophthalmologists to certify all persons with a visual acuity of 6/18, or less, as blind and registrable in that category with social services.
§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the practice in other countries of having only one category of registrable visual disability.
§ Mr. MossNone. The system in use throughout the United Kingdom has been established over many years enabling trends in causes of blindness and partial sight to be monitored. There are no plans to amend the system.