Mr. R. Duckworthasked the Minister of Pensions how many cases of blindness 1436W have been accepted as due to war service or accentuated by it in each of the last three years; and how many pensions in each period have been awarded for the discovery of hitherto unsuspected shrapnel?
§ Mr. RamsbothamThe cases of impaired vision, including those of total blindness, which were accepted in each of the last three years numbered respectively 9, 10 and 9. The numbers of wounds and injuries accepted for compensation or for any necessary treatment in the same years were respectively 456, 393 and 386. A proportion of these cases would represent the effects of shrapnel which had previously caused no disablement, but I am unable to give figures separately for this class of case.