§ Lord Graham of Edmontonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many retirement pensioners are currently receiving television licence concessions in the United Kingdom and for the last five years.
§ Viscount DavidsonOn 31st August 1985 about 615,000 persons in the United Kingdom benefited from the residential care concessionary television licence. While the great majority are retirement pensioners, a small proportion are physically disabled or mentally disordered persons, to whom the concessionary scheme was in certain circumstances extended in September 1984; but it is not possible from available records to identify the respective groups. The approximate number of persons who benefited from the old person's home licence, as the concessionary licence was then known, on 31 st August in the five previous years is as follows:
1980 437,000 1981 469,000 1982 493,000 1983 537,000 1984 568,000