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120
Local Morbidity
I am indebted to the Regional Controller of the Department of
Health and Social Security (London South Region) for the following
statistics relating to claims for sickness and industrial
injury benefits during 1971.
Local offices of the Ministry of Social Security concerned
mainly with the London Borough of Greenwich are those located
at Deptford, Eltham and Woolwich. Regions covered by these
offices are, unfortunately, based upon postal districts and not
upon local authority areas but, nevertheless, for most practical
purposes the figures quoted are reasonably representative of the
Borough's morbidity, subject to the following considerations:—
(a) Figures refer to new claims only—they do not indicate
the current "live load" which includes a good deal of
long-term sickness.
(b) Figures relate only to persons insured for sickness benefit.
Sickness, therefore, in children, the aged, the nonemployed
and "exempt" married women is not included.
(c) Injury benefit figures relate to all employed persons.

Compared with 1970, new claims to sickness benefit fell by
13.6% and those for industrial injury by 9.4%.