HC Deb 27 October 1987 vol 121 cc160-1
10. Mr. John Mark Taylor

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what recent evidence his Department has compiled on the expenditure of elderly households on domestic appliances and other durable goods.

The Minister for Social Security and the Disabled (Mr. Nicholas Scott)

The latest information is for 1985, when the average pensioner household spent more than £230 on durable household goods. This forms the fastest growing area of pensioners' spending and is two thirds higher in real terms than in 1979.

Mr. Taylor

I thank my hon. Friend for his remarks about pensioners' spending. Will he comment on pensioners' incomes which underlie that spending? How do they compare with 1979?

Mr. Scott

Again, the latest information available is for 1985. Between 1979 and 1985 pensioners' incomes increased in real terms by about 18 per cent., which is roughly twice as fast as incomes in the community as a whole.

Mr. McAllion

The Minister will be aware that one of the most important items of expenditure in any elderly household is the purchase or rental of a television set. Indeed, given the lack of safety on the streets, and the fact that many elderly people are afraid to go out after dark, it could be argued that acquiring a television set is an essential item of expenditure in elderly households. Therefore, to keep as many elderly people as possible living independently in the community, will the DHSS support the proposal for a system of concessionary television licences for pensioners, which would cost the Treasury only £330 million? It gives thousands of millions of pounds in tax cuts to the rich every year.

Mr. Scott

No doubt many hon. Members will recall the time when pensioners were given vouchers with which to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products. We should concentrate on protecting the real value of the retirement pension rather than embarking on a series of specific grants for items which some pensioners may not want.

Mrs. Beckett

Does the Minister not recognise that there is something a little more than ironic about Ministers congratulating themselves on the increase in pensioners' incomes, which stemmed directly from the changes made in state and occupational pensions by the Labour Government in 1975 and which were seriously weakened by the activities of this Government in the Social Security Act 1986? Does he admit that that Act will weaken the standard of living of pensioners?

Mr. Scott

No. The steady maturing of the SERPS scheme, the reforms which we shall introduce for pensions in 1988, the increase in pensioners' savings and the Government's success in controlling inflation will all contribute to rising standards of living for our pensioners.

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