§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will outline in the Official Report the training available in the United Kingdom for professional workers with deaf-blind children;
(2) how many specially trained professional workers are assisting deaf-blind children.
§ Mr. RossiThe training of many professions and service groups is relevant to caring for deaf-blind children and it would not be possible to meet all the requirements within a single training system. The necessary knowledge and experience can often best be obtained through working with such children under supervision. Special courses are available for some workers to supplement their general skills.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list in the Official Report the special provisions he has made for the rehabilitation of deaf-blind adults, adolescents and children;
260W(2) how many training centres there are which provide specific training centres for deaf-blind people; and if he will take steps to increase the number;
(3) if he will take steps to set up six permanent, national residences, located at the convenience of the young deaf-blind population, for the most severely handicapped of them;
(4) how many centres, or special units, there are for deaf-blind adults, adolescents and children; and where they are located.
§ Mr. RossiNo comprehensive record is maintained centrally of facilities available to assist the different groups of deaf-blind people. Some specialised provision is available within the National Health Service; the voluntary sector plays a key role in meeting needs, and local authorities are showing increasing concern. The Department has given financial assistance towards the development of two residential centres recently completed by voluntary bodies. The form which further centres might best take has not yet been appraised.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he is taking steps to improve the information and statistical data about deaf—blind people;
(2) how many deaf—blind people there are in the United Kingdom; and how many of them are adult, adolescent or children.
§ Mr. RossiThe recent review of Government statistics, designed to make the best use of resources deployed in gathering figures, proposed that collecting information on the numbers of persons on the blind register once every three years was adequate for the purposes to which the figures were put. The series are comparatively slow-moving, changing little from year to year.
The most recent readily available data, including age breakdown, are from 31 March 1979. At that date the number of persons on the register of blind who were reported to have the additional handicap of deafness was as follows:
Aged Number 0–15 32 16–64 343 65 and over 1,570 1,945 In 1980, for which no age breakdown is available, the total number reported was 1,920.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is able to make an estimate of the number of deaf—blind (a) adults, (b) adolescents and (c) children who may be wrongly classified as mentally handicapped.
§ Mr. RossiThere is known to be a risk of underestimation of the mental capacity of multiply handicapped children, but where errors have been identified everything possible is done to rectify them. I am unable to make any estimate as to the extent of unidentified errors.