§ Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number of registered (a) blind, (b) deaf and (c) deaf mutes in Scotland at the latest available date.
§ Mr. McElhoneOn 31st December 1974, the last date for which figures are available, there were 10,063 persons in Scotland who were known to have been certified as blind. This information is no longer collected centrally in respect of blind people, and has never been collected in respect of deaf people or those who are deaf mutes. Returns by local authorities indicate that on 31st March 1976 there were about 9,600 people in Scotland whose blindness or partial sight was their reason for contact with a social work department, and that there were about 4,100 persons whose reason for contact was that they were deaf—whether with speech or without—or hard of hearing.