§ Mrs. Rumboldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that the elderly will not be financially disadvantaged under the provision of the new opticians' arrangements.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe elderly are major users of glasses and will therefore be among the main beneficiaries of our measures to increase competition and thus reduce prices and increase choice. Many of them will continue to receive free or reduced cost glasses on income grounds.
A few of the elderly require special or complex lenses which at present are subsidised under the general ophthalmic service arrangements. There may be a tiny minority of users of such special lenses whose modest incomes would not qualify them for free or reduced cost glasses but who might find the periodic cost of glasses troublesome. We are looking for a possible means of helping them without subsidising people of substantial income who are well able to afford their glasses.