§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to publish updated statistics on the numbers of registered blind or partially sighted people; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonThe local authority returns giving information about the numbers of people registered as blind and partially sighted which would normally have been asked for in March 1985 have been deferred until March 1986, and we plan to publish them in the autumn of this year.
In 1985–86 the BD8 return, which provides details on the causes of blindness or partial sight for new cases, has been extended, as it is in every fifth year, to cover persons of working age. The reason for the exceptional departure from the normal three-yearly cycle of registration returns is to provide a once for all check of the response rate of the form BD8 for this age group. Subsequent registration returns will revert to the normal cycle, the next one relating to the position at 31 March 1988.