Key findings

Registrations (at 31 March 2008)

• 153,000 people were on the register of blind people, a slight increase of around 500 (0.3 per cent) from March 2006. There were 10,200 new registrations to the register of blind people, a fall of 5 per cent compared to 2006
• at 31 March 2008, 156,300 people were on the register of partially sighted people, an increase of 1,100 (0.7 per cent) from March 2006. There were 13,200 new registrations to the register of partially sighted people, a fall of 8 per cent compared to 2006.

Differences between the age groups

• 64 per cent of blind and 66 per cent partially sighted people were aged 75 or over. Age breakdown of people registered is similar for blind and for partially sighted people, with no large changes in recent years
• the number of blind people on the register has increased in most age groups. However, the 75 and over age group has fallen by 2,400 (2 per cent) from 2006
• the number of people registered as partially sighted and aged under 75 rose by 3,100 (6 per cent) between March 2006 and March 2008, while the number of those aged 75 and over decreased by 2,100 (2 per cent).

Registrations of people with an additional disability

• 44,900 (29 per cent) of those registered blind and 43,500 (28 per cent) of those registered partially sighted were also recorded with an additional disability, excluding those councils who supplied no figures for the additional disability section of the return
• of those people registered as blind with an additional disability, 4 per cent have a mental health problem, 8 per cent have a learning disability, 60 per cent have a physical disability and 27 per cent have a hearing impairment
• of those people registered as partially sighted with an additional disability, 4 per cent have a mental health problem, 4 per cent have a learning disability, 61 per cent have a physical disability and 30 per cent have a hearing impairment.