§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated number of profoundly deaf people in the United Kingdom; and how many of these are likely to require(a) environmental aids and (b) help with communication.
§ Mr. ScottThe information is not available in the form requested. The number of deaf people with and without 97W speech on local authority registers in England at 31 March 1986 totalled 34,077. Figures for the rest of the United Kingdom are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and Northern Ireland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
All deaf people will clearly require some help with communication, but it is not possible to estimate how many could benefit from the provision of particular kinds of assistance or of environmental aids.