§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the number of very severely handicapped, severely handicapped and appreciably handicapped persons in Great Britain, based on the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys survey in 1968–69 updated according to demographic trends; and if he is able to give a comparable estimate for persons omitted from that survey, namely: children and people in hospital, residential care and Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisMy problem in attempting such an estimate is that it would not be safe to assume that the prevalence of handicap has remained constant within age groups, for males and females separately, since the OPCS survey was carried out in 1968. I regret that it is thus no longer possible to update the earlier estimates using demographic trends. I regret also that comparable prevalence rates in respect of handicapped people not covered by the OPCS report are not available, as it has not so far been practicable to undertake further and more extensive surveys of this kind.