A wide range of services and benefits in kind are available to older people and these are administered both centrally and locally. As a result, the information is not available in the format requested: some information is not collected and some could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The information which is available is given as follows.
(i) NHS services
People aged 60 and over are able to claim free prescriptions and eye tests on the grounds of age. Detailed information on prescription charges is not held in the format requested.
Free NHS sight tests were made available to people aged 60 and over from 1 April 1999. Information on the average value of NHS sight tests provided to people aged 60 and over within the area of the former York and Selby primary care trust is only available on a consistent basis for the three years 2003-04 to 2005-06 and is set out in the following table.
Financial year Number of free NHS sight tests given to people aged 60 and over Estimated cost of NHS sight tests to people aged 60 and over (£) 2003-04 26,254 453,144 2004-05 26,619 474,351 2005-06 25,057 460,798
PCTs were restructured in October 2006 and no equivalent data for 2006-07 are available. Information for 2007-08 is available for the North Yorkshire and York PCT area and is set out in the following table.
Financial year Number of free NHS sight tests given to people aged 60 and over Estimated cost of NHS sight tests to people aged 60 and over (£) 2007-08 88,428 1,708,429
NHS optical vouchers and free dental treatment may additionally be available to individuals in receipt of certain qualifying benefits, or if they have been assessed as eligible for assistance under the NHS Low Income Scheme. Information on the value of such NHS services is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
(ii) Social services
The following table shows the gross current expenditure by York council on social services for people aged 65 or over from 1996-97 to 2007-08.
1 April to 31 March Gross current expenditure (£000) 1996-97 15,200 1997-98 16,300 1998-99 17,400 1999-2000 18,700 2000-01 19,100 2001-02 19,400 2002-032 23,500 2003-043 21,900 2004-05 25,600 2005-06 27,500 2006-07 27,600 2007-08 27,600 1 Gross expenditure includes income from client contributions, but excludes capital charges and certain income items which count as expenditure elsewhere in the public sector, such as contributions from primary care trusts. This is to avoid double counting within the aggregate public sector accounts of the money involved. 2 From 2002-03 onwards, the data includes clients who transferred to council with social services responsibilities (CSSR) support on 8 April 2002, who were formally in receipt of higher rates of income support under the Department for Work and Pensions preserved rights scheme. 3 From 2003-04, additional funding was made available to CSSRs via the Supporting People grant. Source: R03 and PSS EX1 returns
(iii) Travel concessions
The statutory minimum travel concession, introduced in April 2008, gives those aged 60 or over and eligible disabled people free off-peak local bus travel in any part of England. The Government provide around £1 billion a year to fund the concession.
Travel concession schemes are provided through local authorities, which have flexibility to enhance their schemes to offer more than the statutory minimum, so there are local variations in what is offered and take-up of concessionary travel also varies from one area to another. Therefore it is not possible to quantify the value of the benefit in kind in a specific local authority area.
(iv) Television licences
Free television licences for people aged 75 or over were introduced in November 2000. TV Licensing, who administer free licences as agents for the BBC, are not able to provide geographical breakdowns of licences issued. However, figures, shown in the following table, are available for the number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming winter fuel payments in York local authority. These people would be eligible for a free television licence.
Number of households with someone aged 75 or over 2004-05 11,685 2005-06 11,930 2006-07 12,070 2007-08 12,240
Television licence fees for each year since the concession was introduced are shown in the following table:
£ Colour Black and white 2000-01 104.00 34.50 2001-02 109.00 36.50 2002-03 112.00 37.50 2003-04 116.00 38.50 2004-05 121.00 40.50 2005-06 126.50 42.00 2006-07 131.50 44.00 2007-08 135.50 45.50 2008-09 139.50 47.00 2009-10 142.50 48.00
(v) Insulation
The Warm Front scheme is the Government's main programme for tackling fuel poverty in vulnerable households in the private sector in England. Warm Front provides grants for heating, insulation and energy efficiency measures. The following table displays the number of pensioner households that have received Warm Front assistance in the York local authority area since the scheme's inception in 2000, and the average spend on each of those households.
Number of single pensioner households assisted in York Average spend per single pensioner household assisted (£) Number of two pensioners households assisted in York Average spend per two pensioner household assisted (£) 2000-01 63 345.50 16 791.74 2001-02 170 502.44 43 1,156.06 2002-03 184 611.81 46 1,424.28 2003-04 82 748.75 21 1,701.55 2004-05 87 693.71 22 1,596.59 2005-06 199 778.45 102 765.08 2006-07 364 753.92 252 657.25 2007-08 390 1,020.33 297 998.20 2008-09 199 1,741.24 155 1,612.50