To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2007, Official Report, column 1550W, on digital switchover, whether the figure includes the households of people who are registered as blind or partially sighted but not on Department of Work and Pensions lists. (132183)

We estimate that around 80 per cent. of registered blind and partially sighted people will be over 75 or receive a qualifying disability-related benefit. A further 50,000 people, or 0.7 per cent. of the total eligible households, nationwide may be eligible on grounds of blind or partially sighted registration alone. Our current estimates of the number of households in Whitehaven who qualify for assistance do not include those who qualify on grounds of registration alone but will be within the rounding tolerances given for the Whitehaven estimates.