To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of sight tests in the second quarter of 1990, and in previous quarters over the past five years.

Information on sight tests is not available centrally on a quarterly basis. Statistics on the number of sight tests paid for under the general ophthalmic services are currently collected on a six-monthly basis. The following table gives the number of NHS sight tests paid for in England for the five-year period up to and including 31 September 1989—the most recent figure available. Comparable data on private sight tests conducted since April 1989 are not centrally collected.