§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate the cost of extending the current TV licence concessions for sheltered accommodation to all people of pensionable age. [77892]
§ Janet Anderson[holding answer 22 March 1999]: The estimated cost of providing £5 television licences for all pensioner-only households would be £447 million a year. There are no plans at present for such a concession. The current review of the future of the BBC licence fee after 2002 includes a detailed consideration of the structure of the existing concessionary licence scheme and whether a suitable alternative structure could be available.