§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make an estimate of the numbers of retired persons receiving supplementary benefit who live on their own, and the cost of paying on their behalf, through the supplementary benefit system, for the television licence.
§ Mr. DeanIt is estimated that about 1,100,000 supplementary pensioners live436W alone, including about 600,000 pensioners who either sublet part of their accommodation or take boarders on a commercial basis. The expenditure involved in meeting the full cost of a non-colour television licence for all these pensioners through the supplementary benefits scheme would be about £7¾ million a year.