§ Mr. McCartneyasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total Government expenditure in Scotland on outdoor mobility help for the disabled in the first full year preceding 28th February 1974 and in the most recent full year, respectively.
§ Mr. William RossExpenditure, excluding the cost of routine servicing and
762W
§ Mr. William RossThe estimates for the five years to June 1974, the latest year for which figures are available, are given in the table below.
The estimates of migration between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom are based on the registration of patients on doctors' lists, as recorded by local health authorities and subsequently by the National Health Service Central Registers. It has recently become apparent that, because of National Health Service reorganisation, delays occurred in the procedures for recording and counting new registrations, though the extent of these delays cannot be precisely measured.
This affects estimates already made, because it produced understatement of the numbers moving from Scotland to England and Wales in the second half of 1973 and first half of 1974. I regret that the estimate of net gain of 7,800 from the rest of the United Kingdom and overseas for the year to June 1974, which I gave in my Answer to my hon. Friend, the Member for Glasgow, Queen's Park (Mr. McElhone), on 19th December 1974, requires to be revised.
The best revised estimate that the Registrar General for Scotland is now able to make is that the year to mid-1974 should show a net loss of 2,000, as in the table printed below. This is the lowest net loss for any year since the war.
repair of invalid tricycles and wheelchairs, which cannot be separately identified, was £620,000 and £862,000 in the financial years 1972–73 and 1974–75, respectively.