§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give figures for the numbers of licences granted under the concessionary television licence scheme in the following categories: (a) pensioners, (b) the disabled, (c) hotels and (d) others.
§ Mr. Giles ShawA single accommodation for residential care licence covers all retired and disabled people in a particular residential home or sheltered housing scheme and so the number of licences issued does not 129W correspond with the number of beneficiaries. At the end of September 1984, we know that about 567,000 retired people and 1,000 disabled people benefited from the concession. Under separate arrangements, some 42,000 registered blind people received a reduction in their licence fees. There is no formal concession for hotels, and licensing practice is to be changed on 1 January to require all except small hotels to pay higher fees according to the number of guest rooms they equip with television.