To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households have a free television licence. (230886)

As my hon. Friend may know, people who are aged 75 or over are entitled to a free Over 75 TV Licence for their home. In the financial year 2007-08 4.003 million free over 75 licences were issued.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households have a television licence. (230887)

The following statistics are for licences in force in the UK as at 31 March 2008.

Please note these statistics are approximations of the numbers of licences in force (in total, not just in households) and are not exact. They also do not include licences held by premises which are classed as Accommodation for Residential Care (ARC). This is because a detailed breakdown of ARC or other licences by nation is not held.

It may also be interesting to note that figures from the Broadcaster’s Audience Research Board (BARB) estimate that the percentage of households in the UK which have a television is 98 per cent. More information on BARB can be found on their website at

http://www.barb.co.uk/.