§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) how many households covered by a concessionary television licence are(a) living in a residential or nursing home and (b) living in a sheltered scheme as defined by the relevant concessionary licence scheme regulations;
(2) how many additional households would qualify for a concessionary television licence if the present scheme's definition of sheltered housing were replaced by the definition of sheltered housing in paragraph 10 of schedule 5 to the Housing Act 1985;
(3) how many householders enjoy the benefit of a concessionary television licence due to preserved rights; and how many of these live in (a) residential or nursing homes and (b) in sheltered schemes;
(4) how many additional households would be eligible for a concessionary television licence if the present requirement for all occupants of qualifying schemes to be both tenants and fully retired persons of state pensionable age or disabled were replaced by a requirement that only (a) 90 per cent. and (b) 75 per cent. of occupants need satisfy this criterion.
§ Mr. BrookeI understand from TV Licensing that 490,203 households hold a concessionary television licence by virtue of meeting the criteria laid down in the current regulations (SI 1991/436). Of these, 86,582 households are in residential homes, nursing homes and almshouses, while 403,621 are in sheltered housing schemes managed by a local authority or housing association. A further 171,415 137W households qualify for preserved rights to a concessionary licence, although their accommodation no longer qualifies under the regulations. Statistics on preserved rights are not broken down by the type of accommodation occupied.
The remaining information requested by the hon. Member is not available and could not readily be estimated.