§ Mr. Beggsasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many telephones have been installed for the elderly in each of the last five years for which records are available; and what additional provision is being made for future installation of telephones for the elderly.
§ Mr. Chris PattenSpecific figures for the number of people over 65 years of age who were assisted with the costs of their telephones have only been available since 1981 and are as follows:
Year Number 1981 490 1982 491 1983 707 It is for health and social services boards to decide how much they should allocate from within their total budget to be spent on the provision of telephones taking into account the priority accorded to the scheme within the entire provision of services.