§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people had sight tests in Nottingham, North, or the next biggest geographical area for which figures are available, in(a) the last 12-month period for which figures are available and (b) 1 January 1988 to 31 December 1988; and what proportion of these were over the age of 65 years.
§ Dr. MawhinneyFigures are not collected in respect of parliamentary constituencies. The numbers of national532W health service sight tests paid for in each financial year by the Nottingham family health services authority are shown in the table.
Year Number of sight tests 1987–88 238,980 1988–89 254,830 11989–90 111,410 1990–91 82,950 1991–92 96,850 1 From 1 April 1989, NHS sight tests were restricted to certain groups in the population. The sight tests paid for in 1989–90 include some conducted prior to 1 April 1989. The remainder paid for in 1989–90 do not represent a full year under the new system, because of the delay in payments. The figure for 1989–90 is not, therefore, directly comparable with that for 1990–91. The Department does not collect information on either the number of private sight tests carried out, or the number of people aged over 65 who have sight tests. The figures are collected by financial year.