Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free television licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in (a) Glasgow South West constituency, (b) Glasgow City local authority area and (c) Scotland in 2018-19; and if she will make a statement.

In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.

On 10 June 2019, the BBC announced that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.

The cost to the public purse for providing free TV licences to those aged over 75 in Scotland in 2018/19 is estimated as £38m. This is the first year of the part funding agreement leading up to the BBC taking responsibility for policy and funding of the concession from June 2020. The figure of £38m therefore is the DWP’s share only, not the total expenditure.

The table below provides estimates of the costs and caseloads for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 years and over in Glasgow South West constituency and Glasgow City local authority.

The most recent figures available for parliamentary constituency and local authority are for 2017/18. Figures for 2018/19 will be available in October.

Note: The figure of £4.1m for Glasgow City local authority has been revised upwards by £0.1m from £4.0m since figures were last provided in a Parliamentary Question response in June 2019.