§ 11. Mr. Bob Blizzard (Waveney)If he will review the regulations covering concessionary TV licences in sheltered residential accommodation for elderly people. [128207]
§ The Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting (Janet Anderson)This concessionary scheme was examined last year by the Davies panel which concluded that, despite its obvious drawbacks, it should be retained since no superior alternative, funded through the licence fee, could be found. We decided to accept the panel's recommendation that the scheme should be retained and have no plans for a further review.
§ Mr. BlizzardI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. People in my constituency welcome the free television licence for over-75s. However, I should like to draw my hon. Friend's attention to the situation in Samford Court, Worlingham, in my constituency, where all 40 flats lost their entitlement to the shared television licence scheme because the housing association moved in one resident who was 59. Although I think that the housing association should have known better, and that the case demonstrates 617 rather insensitive management, I also think that the case demonstrates the continuing unsatisfactory nature of the licence regime for sheltered accommodation.
Given that the remit for the Gavyn Davies report was very broad, would my hon. Friend re-examine that one detailed issue in the television licence regime? I should add that the residents in Samford Court know that, if ever the Tories got back into office, even 75-year-olds would lose their free television licences.
§ Janet AndersonI could not agree more with my hon. Friend on that last point. He also raises a very important issue that I know causes concern in many constituencies across the country. We have always said that we recognise that the £5 accommodation for residential care—the ARC—concessionary television licence scheme is unsatisfactory. We also know that that dissatisfaction and unsatisfactory way of operating continue. However, about 80 per cent. of ARC beneficiaries are 75 or over, and the over-75 concession will help the very elderly living alone, who represent some of the most glaring examples of the unfairness of the ARC scheme.
Recently, we did make one change to the scheme, in recognition of some of those problems. On 1 April, we made the change to replace references in the regulations to "pensionable age" with the gender-neutral phrase "aged 60 years or more". When men over 60 are in those residential schemes, therefore, that will not jeopardise entitlement to the concessionary licence.
We do recognise that it is an unjust and unfair scheme, but at least we have begun to do something about it—unlike Conservative Members, who in 18 years refused to face up to the problem.
§ Mr. Owen Paterson (North Shropshire)That was a remarkable answer. If the Minister admits that it is not fair for those who are 60 to 74 and outside a sheltered home not to get a concession whereas those who are inside such a home do get one, why is she not doing something about it?
§ Janet AndersonThe hon. Gentleman is obviously not listening: the scheme that operated under the previous Government was patently unfair, and we have begun to do something about it. The Chancellor of the Exchequer decided that he could begin to afford to strip that unfairness out of the system. Consequently, 3 million pensioners over 75 will benefit from a free television licence. Many of them did not benefit from such a concession before.