HC Deb 25 June 1974 vol 875 cc444d-e W
Mr. D. E. Thomas

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retirement pensioners in Wales were in receipt of supplementary pensions in each of the years 1968 to 1973.

Mr. Robert C. Brown

The number of supplementary pensions payable to retirement pensioners and to national insurance widow beneficiaries over pension age in Wales as at November in each of the years concerned was as follows:

1968 … … … 107,000
1969 … … … 107,000
1970 … … … 107,000
1971 … … … 111,000
1972 … … … 105,000
1973 … … … 101,000

It is estimated that in each of these years the number of wives of supplementary persioners who were receiving a retirement pension either on their own or their husband's insurance was of the order of 20,000.

1970 1971 1972 1973 1974
Three-wheelers with manual gear change 15,200 16,100 15,221 12,965 12,459
Three-wheelers with automatic transmission 0 0 1,295 4,032 5,643
Electrically propelled three-wheelers 2,334 1,927 1,956 1,838 1,749
Cars with manual gearchange 6,397 6,751 7,014 6,727 7,377
Cars with automatic transmission 925 1,475

Mr. Pardoe

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the total number of motor invalid tricycles with manually-operated gearbox, motor invalid tricycles with automatic transmission, electrically-propelled invalid tricycles, four-wheeled cars, or travellers, with manually-operated gearbox and four-wheeled cars, or travel

1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73
Three-wheelers with manual gearchange … 4,542 4,207 3,091
Three-wheelers with automatic transmission … 5,094 — 438 1,563
Electric three-wheelers … 145 238 260
Cars (manual and automatic) … 2,067 1,946 1,700 1,577

A substantial proportion of these are minor incidents, such as scraping a gatepost, and not collisions with other vehicles on the road.

For the years 1969–70 and 1970–71 the figures are for England and Wales. The figures for 1973–74 are not yet available.

Mr. Pardoe

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the total number of disabled drivers of motor in