HL Deb 15 March 2005 vol 670 cc126-7WA
Lord Vinson

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will give the breakdown by disability of the 10 million persons who were announced by the Department for Work and Pensions as being disabled; how many of these qualify for disabled parking; and what number are wheelchair-bound. [HL1626]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)

The information requested is contained in the tables below.

Adults in Britain likely to be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act
Millions
Area of significant difficulty
Mobility (moving about) 6.1
Lift, carry, move everyday objects 5.9
Manual dexterity (using hands for everyday tasks) 2.4
Continence (bladder control) 1.2
Communication (speak, listen, read, write) 1.3
Memory, concentration, learning, understanding 1.7
Understanding when in physical danger 0.4
Other area of life 1.5

Source:

Family Resources Survey 2002–03, Great Britain

Note:

1. The Family Resources Survey has a large sample size and response rate and therefore provides a robust estimate of those likely to be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.

2. As many disabled people have more than one impairment, figures will total more than 10 million.

Parking Badges for disabled people issued in 2003
Thousands
All Badges Badges on issue to individuals Badges on issue to institutions
England 2,031 2,005 27
Wales 205 203 2
Scotland *217 205 3

Sources:

Department for Transport Bulletin of Public Transport Statistics, Great Britain (2004 Edition); The National Assembly for Wales, Welsh Transport Statistics 2004; and Scottish Executive, Scottish Transport Statistics 2004

Note:

Figures in the "All badges Scotland" column include 10,000 cases where it is not known if issued to individuals or institutions.

There are no reliable statistics on the number of people in Great Britain who normally use a wheelchair. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister estimates the number of people needing to use a wheelchair on some occasions in England as 542,000 for April 2003 to March 2004.