§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is his latest estimate of the administrative cost of the reduction of £1.25 pence in the television licence fee for registered blind people;
(2) how many registered blind people are currently holders of television licences issued at the reduced rate; and what proportion this represents of the total number of adult registered blind people in England and Wales.
§ Mr. HurdSome 38,000 blind people in England and Wales—about 30 per cent. of all adult registered blind persons there—and a further 4,000 elsewhere in the United Kingdom pay a reduced licence fee. The administrative cost of issuing these licences is not identified separately, being included in the charge for issuing television licences generally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.