§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will implement the recommendation of the Peacock committee that pensioners on supplementary benefit should not have to pay a television licence fee. [16583]
§ Mr. Sproat[holding answer 19 February 1997]: The Peacock committee report of 1986 recommended that pensioners drawing supplementary pension in households wholly dependent on a pension should be exempt from the television licence fee. Supplementary pension was replaced in 1988 by the income support scheme. The cost of identifying pensioners drawing income support in households wholly dependent on a pension would be disproportionate and the only realistic alternative would therefore be to introduce free television licences for all 697W pensioners drawing income support. Such a measure would inevitably prompt demands for similar treatment for other people on income support, many of whom might be thought to have an equally valid claim to a concession. The cost of any such concession in lost licence fee revenue would be considerable and would need to be offset by an increase in the licence fee for all other licence holders, including pensioners. The Government are not persuaded that this would be justified.