§ Mr. Butterfillasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many male and how many female registered blind people are in receipt of severe disablement allowance;
(2) how many registered blind people, now receiving severe disablement allowance, were receiving noncontributory invalidity pension or housewives' noncontributory invalidity pension before the severe disablement allowance was introduced;
(3) how many registered partially sighted people, male and female, are in receipt of severe disablement allowance;
(4) how many registered partially sighted people, now receiving severe disablement allowance, were receiving non-contributory invalidity pension or housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension before the severe disablement allowance was introduced.
§ Mr. NewtonI regret that information is not available in the form requested.
However, the latest available figures show that, as at April 1983, some 800 men and 400 women with disorders of the eye were incapable of work and receiving non-contributory invalidity pension. It is not known how many of these were registered blind or partially sighted. All those drawing non-contributory invalidity pension immediately prior to the introduction of severe disablement allowance on 29 November 1984 were automatically transferred to the new benefit from that date. One man and 35 women who have been newly awarded severe disablement allowance since last November are shown as suffering from disorders of the eye. Of these all but one of the women have been accepted as satisfying the disablement condition on the grounds that they are registered blind or partially sighted.