AQW 4886/10

Mrs Naomi Long
Alliance Party
East Belfast

Tabled Date: 17/02/2010
Answered On Date: 04/03/2010
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many people are currently registered as blind; and what percentage of these people are of pensionable age.

Answer:

Information on the number of people registered as blind is not collected centrally, but is recorded by each Health & Social Care (HSC) Trust. The information provided by the five HSC Trusts is detailed in the table below.

Persons Registered as Blind in HSC Trusts at 19th February 2010 1

	Aged under 65		Aged 65 and over		All persons
HSC Trust	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Belfast	299	26	871	74	1170	100
Northern	384	33	781	67	1165	100
South Eastern	192	34	372	66	564	100
Southern	252	37	436	63	688	100
Western	236	45	284	55	520	100
Northern Ireland	1363	33	2744	67	4107	100

1 The information recorded by HSC Trusts is not a register of those blind, as people may refuse to have their names added to relevant HSC Trust records.