In the past five years I have made a number of improvements to the free schemes which have added very significantly to the numbers benefiting under these schemes. The number of households benefiting from the electricity-gas allowance has increased from 211,000 in 1997 to 283,000 at present. The number of households benefiting from the TV licence scheme has increased from 206,000 1997 to 220,000 at end 2000. The number of households benefiting from the telephone allowance has increased from 165,000 in 1997 to almost 244,000 at present and this is expected to increase by a further 13,600 from May next year as a result of improvements announced in the recent budget.
The 2002 budget provides for a new household benefits scheme from May 2002 which is designed to align the eligibility criteria for the telephone allowance with those for the existing electricity/gas and TV licence schemes. This will bring these schemes into one combined package which will make it easier for people to claim their entitlements and, as already indicated, will entitle up to 13,600 additional people to telephone allowance. The budget also provided for an increase of 300 in the number of units under the free electricity/gas scheme with effect from February 2002. It is estimated that this will benefit around 280,000 households. In addition, from May 2002 the free travel companion pass will be extended to people in receipt of invalidity pension who are unable to travel alone which will benefit around 2,000 people.
Earlier budgets provided for improvements as follows: extension of the companion free travel pass to all persons aged 75 or over who are unable to travel alone, 1998; extension of the telephone allowance to all persons in receipt of a carer's allowance, benefiting 10,000 carers, 1999; extension of the electricity/gas allowance and free television licence to all persons in receipt of a carer's allowance, benefiting 10,000 households, 2000; extension of the electricity/gas allowance, telephone allowance and free television licence to all persons aged 75 or over benefiting 16,000 households, 2000; extension of all the free schemes to all persons aged 70 or over, benefiting 40,000 households, 2001.