§ Mr. Chris Smithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons there are with substantially impaired hearing in England; and how many hearing therapists are employed by each health authority in England.
§ Mr. WhitneyAs at 31 March 1983, the latest date for which figures are available, the numbers of hearing impaired people registered with local authorities in England were 16,113 deaf with speech, 15,722 deaf without speech and 47,179 hard of hearing. It is known, however, that these figures are not representative of the true prevalence of hearing impairment in the population. The profession of hearing therapy has been developed in this country only since 1978–79 and we understand that at present about 51 hearing therapists are in post in England, spread through all 14 regions.