§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if pensioners over-75 years who are to receive free television licences will also be exempt from a future digital licence fee supplement. [100048]
§ Janet AndersonNo decision has been made on the recommendation of the independent review panel on the future funding of the BBC for a digital television licence supplement for people using digital receivers.
§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pensioner households will not benefit from the introduction of a free television licence for the over-75s. [99072]
§ Janet Anderson[holding answer 29 November 1999]: An estimated 4.6 million pensioner households do not include a member who is aged 75 or over.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, (1) pursuant to his answer of 24 November 1999,Official Report, columns 155–56W, on TV licence concessions for 60, 75-year-olds and over, what assessment he has made of the number of households that will benefit in each of the next three years; [100473]
(2) pursuant to his answer of 24 November 1999, Official Report, columns 155–56W, on concessionary TV licences for pensioners aged over 75 years, if he will estimate the cost, at current prices, of providing licences in each of the next three years. [100472]
§ Janet Anderson[holding answer 30 November 1999]: I refer the hon. Member to my earlier reply on 24 November 1999, Official Report, columns 155–56W. The available forecasts of household numbers, by age group, are not sufficiently accurate to enable detailed information to be provided for future years. The costs of the concession will also be affected by the precise structure of the scheme, which the Government intend to announce shortly.
§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate the cost of making television licences available at no cost to all pensioners. [100572]
322W
§ Janet AndersonThe estimated cost of providing free television licences to all households including a pensioner would be nearly £700 million a year, while the cost of free television licences for all pensioner-only households would be approximately £490 million a year.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many more pensioners would benefit if the free television licence concession was extended to all households comprised only of people of state pensionable age; and how much this would cost in each of the next 10 years. [99670]
§ Janet Anderson[holding answer 29 November 1999]: There are an estimated 3 million households consisting only of people of state pensionable age but below the age of 75, of which approximately 100,000 qualify for the existing concessionary television licence. The estimated cost of providing free television licences to all such households is approximately £290 million a year at current licence fee levels. Costs in future years would depend on the number of households consisting solely of pensioners below the age of 75 and the level of the television licence fee, which is not fixed for the next 10 years.
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households comprising one or more people aged over 75 years are currently in receipt of a concessionary television licence. [100316]
§ Janet Anderson[holding answer 29 November 1999]: Detailed figures are not available, since records do not distinguish between beneficiaries who have attained the age of 75 and those who have not. However, it is estimated that approximately 500,000 households currently in receipt of a concessionary television licence include a person aged 75 or over.
§ Mr. CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what date the scheme to provide free television licences to pensioners over the age of 75 will be introduced. [99860]
§ Janet AndersonWe will announce full details of the scheme, including the starting date, in the near future.
§ Mr. Tony ClarkeTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households with members over the age of 75 years will receive free television licences from August 2000; and how many households with members between the ages of 60 and 75 years will not receive free television licences. [100785]
§ Janet AndersonOver three million households include a member aged 75 or over and will therefore benefit from the free television licences announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. We hope to announce details of the scheme, including the starting date, shortly. An estimated three million households consist only of people of state pensionable age but below the age of 75, of which approximately 100,000 qualify for the existing £5 concessionary television licence.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how many people aged 75 years and over in(a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire will receive free television licences; and if he will make a statement; [101129]
323W(2) how many pensioners in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire will benefit from free television licences for those aged over 75 years; and if he will make a statement. [100591]
§ Janet AndersonAs at mid-1998, the latest date for which figures are available, the estimated number of people in Shrewsbury and Atcham County District aged 75 or over was 7,900 and the estimated number in the County of Shropshire 23,300. As the Government have announced, every pensioner aged 75 or over will receive their television licence free of charge.
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if it is the policy of the Government that households with one or more people aged over 75 years should be able to enjoy free access to the digital services of the BBC. [100317]
§ Janet Anderson[holding answer 29 November 1999]: All BBC public service channels are and will continue to be available free-to-air to all licensed households with the necessary receiving equipment.