§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much money has been spent on the installation of telephones in the homes of elderly or disabled persons in each of the past five years for which records are available; and what was the percentage increase or decrease in such expenditure over that period.
§ Mr. RossiFinancial returns from local authorities show that net current spending by social services departments on the installation of telephones has been:
Year ending 31 March £ million 1978 3.012 1979 3.591 1980 3.567 1981 4.435 1982* 5.023 * provisional This represents an increase of 67 per cent. in cash terms over the period.
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many telephones were installed in the homes of elderly or disabled persons in each of the past five years for which records are available; and what was the percentage increase or decrease in installation over that period.
§ Mr. RossiThe number of cases where local authorities in England assisted with the installation of telephones for elderly or disabled people for the past five years for which information is available was as follows:
Year ending 31 March Number 1978 13,947 1979 16,884 1980 12,941 1981 8,949 1982 9,391 The percentage decrease in cases over the period 1978–1982 was 32.7.