§ 35. Dame Joan Vickersasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many local authorities are employing 139W welfare workers who have received training which qualifies them to work for the blind and undertake home visiting.
§ Mr. Alison146 out of 158 local social services authorities in England employ persons holding either the certificate of the social welfare officer for the blind issued by the College of Teachers of the Blind or the certificate for work with the blind issued to qualified social workers by the former Council for Training in Social Work. The remaining 12 authorities will have agency arrangements with local voluntary bodies for the blind but information on their staffing is not available centrally.