Oral Answers to Questions — Posts and Telecommunications – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 17 Rhagfyr 1973.
Mr Giles Radice
, Chester-le-Street
12:00,
17 Rhagfyr 1973
asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications how much money has been spent in the past year on granting concessionary television licences to retirement pensioners.
Mr John Eden
, Bournemouth West
Retirement pensioners as such do not receive concessionary television licences. About 190,000 people have old persons' home television licences; the value of this concession amounted to about £1 million.
Mr Giles Radice
, Chester-le-Street
Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that, in the new situation created by the present crisis, one of the least costly gestures of good will that the Government could make would be to give all old-age pensioners cheap television licences? Is he aware that most old-age pensioners would regard a change of heart on television licences as a real Christmas present, better than the one they are getting at the moment?
Mr John Eden
, Bournemouth West
I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman has had the opportunity to study the figures rehearsed in this House on a number of occasions, but to give all retirement pensioners a free television licence would cost £30 million a year. I do not think that can be contemplated.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
