§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the number of (a) blind children, (b) children in receipt of attendance allowance and mobility allowance and (c) other disabled children; and what is his estimate, in each case, where the family is claiming (i) supplementary benefit and (ii) standard housing benefit.
§ Mr. NewtonThe latest information relating to blind children and those receiving attendance allowance and mobility allowance is set out in the table. It is not possible to produce reliable and up to date estimates of the numbers of other disabled children in advance of the results of the 599W disablement survey being undertaken by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. Neither is it possible to produce reliable estimates of the numbers of disabled children living in families receiving standard housing benefit.
Disabled children in Great Britain* (000's) Blind† Receiving mobility allowance Receiving attendance allowance Total number 2 19 57 Number of families receiving supplementary benefit n/a 7 1 Notes
Figures overlap, and relate to different dates. The latest available figure has been used in each case.
†The figures for the blind relate to children registered with their local authority.