§ Mr. HannamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he plans to publish the final report from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys surveys of disability.
§ Mr. ScottThe Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) has today published the sixth report on the findings of the surveys of disability carried out in Great Britain between 1985 and 1988. The report covers all the remaining aspects of circumstances of disabled children not included in reports 3 and 5, which were published earlier this year. It provides information on a wide range of topics, including the use of services, equipment and adaptations, mobility, transport and education. For those in private households the effect of disability on the family is examined, and for those in communal establishments the social activities and some financial aspects are described.
The large quantity of detailed and complex information contained in the report has been provided by the families of disabled children or by members of staff for those in communal establishments. It therefore reflects the perceptions and knowledge of those people on the activities and experiences of disabled children, including the type of services they receive and the disability equipment they use.
42WThis report is the sixth and final in a series published by the OPCS since September 1988. Its publication marks the point at which both the Government and organisations of and for disabled people can begin to look at the survey findings in the round. We hope that the report will generate comment not only on its own results but on the survey findings as a whole.