§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local authorities pay through their rate income for concessionary or free television licences to retired residents in their localities; what is his estimate of the number of retired people who have concessionary television licences through financial arrangements between the Television Licence Records Office and the BBC; and if he can estimate the total number of retired people who have to pay the full television licence fee.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonWe are told that of 158 local authorities in England 102 helped in 1973–74 in providing television licences for pensioners and disabled people. The information does not distinguish between pensioners and others.
There are no financial arrangements between the Television Licence Records Office and the BBC, but about 200,000 695W pensioners benefit from the special television licence for old people's homes which costs 5p. There are thought to be nearly 3 million pensioner households in the United Kingdom with television where the full television licence fee is payable.