§ Sir N. GRATTAN-DOYLEasked the Minister of Pensions if he will state the cost of administering the Blind Persons Act, 1920, in England and Wales to 31st March, 1930; the total number of registered blind persons in England and Wales on 31st March, 1930; the total number of blind persons between the ages of 50 and 70 years, and the number who are in receipt of blind old age pensions, stating the reason why the remainder are not being granted pensions; the total number of blind old age pensioners over 70 years of age; the number of blind persons in England and Wales under the various age groups; 0 to 5 years, 5 to 16 years, 16 to 21 years, 21 to 30 years, 30 to 40 years, and 40 to 50 years the total cost of pensions paid to persons under the Blind Persons Act, 1930; and the number of blind persons who are in receipt of Poor Law relief, and the average amount paid per person?
§ Mr. GREENWOODI have been asked to reply. Complete figures are not available of the total cost of administering the Blind Persons Act, 1920, up to the 31st March last. The total number of registered blind persons in England and Wales was 52,727 on the 31st March, 1929, the latest date for which figures are at present available. Of that number 20,149 were between the ages of 50 and 70, and 17,516 were in receipt of blind old age pensions. The remainder were not in receipt of pensions either because they had not applied for a pension or because they did not comply with the statutory conditions for a pension. The number of blind old age pensioners over the age of 70 is not known, because after attaining that age blind pensioners rank as ordinary old age pensioners, "blindness" ceasing to be a statutory condition for a pension. The following table gives the number of blind persons in England and Wales on 31st March, 1929 under the age groups mentioned in the question:
Ages. Number. 0–5 258 5–16 2,438 16–21 1,623 21–30 3,288 30–40 4,716 40–50 5,897 The total cost of pensions paid to persons in England and Wales under the 942W Blind Persons Act, 1920, for the year ended 31st March, 1930, was £475,000 and the estimated cost of administration for that year was £12,000. The information asked for in the last part of the question is not available.