Brecon and Radnorshire Liberal Democrats

HELP SCHEME HITCH TO HIT WALES'S MOST VULNERABLE - WILLIAMS

Speaking after the release of a Written Ministerial Statement showing that approximately 65,000 people were given the wrong advice over the digital switchover help scheme, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Roger Williams MP has demanded that steps are taken to ensure the mistakes are not repeated.

65,000 people, mainly in the Llandudno area, but also in Llandrindod Wells, and some parts of North-West England, were mistakenly written to explaining that they were eligible for the scheme when they were not. The Government has stated that anyone who has already applied based on that letter will be treated as though they were eligible.

A further group of people who were entitled to free entry to the help scheme were mistakenly told they would have to pay a £40 fee for assistance. The Help Scheme is available to around 440,000 households in Wales, but 58% of those will have to pay a fee to gain access to the scheme. The Government has not said how many are affected by this issue, but has said they "believe the numbers affected to be small."

Commenting, Roger Williams said:

"It is a matter of extreme concern that so many people have been given the wrong information over the digital switchover help scheme.

"It is welcome that the Government is taking action to inform people of the mistake, but it must ensure that this mistake isn't repeated in other areas. I am particularly concerned that some of the most vulnerable groups, who are eligible for free assistance, may have been put off by the £40 cost and may choose not to apply. It is extremely important that the Government follows these people up.

"The help scheme does seem to be suffering from significant problems. The low take-up suggests it is not being promoted as it could be, and the £40 fee required from over half those eligible may be acting as a barrier to those for whom assistance is essential.

"The Government has said that the expected surplus from the help scheme will go towards meeting the universal service commitment for broadband. That is welcome, but it should not mean that any less effort is made in trying to identify those who need help to get ready for digital switchover."

ENDS

Notes

Text of the Written Ministerial Statement:

MINISTERIAL WRITTEN STATEMENT

Monday 29th June 2009

Digital Switchover Help Scheme

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw): The

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and I have been made aware that the

Digital Switchover Help Scheme (the Help Scheme) has sent out a number of

inaccurate letters regarding eligibility for help under the scheme. This was as a

result of incorrect or incomplete information provided by the Department for Work

and Pensions (DWP).

The Help Scheme is run by the BBC under an agreement with the Government. It

offers older and disabled people help to switch one TV to digital during switchover in

their region. People are eligible if they

• are aged 75 or over; or

• have lived in a care home for six months or more; or

• get or could get disability living allowance, mobility supplement, attendance

allowance or constant attendance allowance; or

• are registered blind or partially sighted.

There are two categories of letters involved: letters sent to people who were not

eligible; and letters sent to people informing them that they would have to pay a £40

charge when they were, in fact, entitled to the help for free. The DWP apologises

for these mistakes and has informed the Information Commissioners Office. DCMS,

DWP and the Help Scheme are working closely to ensure that these errors do not

occur again.

Letters sent to people who are ineligible

The first set of letters has offered help to people who are not eligible for the Help

Scheme.

Approximately 65,000 people were incorrectly sent a letter telling them that they

were eligible for help. Almost all live in the Llandudno postcode area; some are in the

Llandrindod Wells area and there may be small numbers in Liverpool, Chester,

Newport and Lancaster.

The Help Scheme and DWP will today write to around 55,000 ineligible people who

have not already applied for help or responded to the original letter. This letter

apologises for the error and for any inconvenience that may have been caused.

If someone who received the original letter has already applied for help, they will

get help exactly as if they had been eligible in the first place. We believe that this

will be fewer than two thousand people.

The Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Act 2007 allows the DWP to

disclose some limited information to the BBC or eaga, the contractor appointed by

the BBC to run the Scheme. Such information, however, should only relate to people

who are eligible for the Help Scheme.

Letters stating that help was available for £40 instead of for free

It costs £40 to participate in the Scheme except where eligible people are also

entitled to certain income-related benefits. Unfortunately a second batch of letters

has been sent to people stating that they would have to pay £40 to participate in the

Scheme when they should have been informed that it was available to them for free.

These are recipients of the income related component of the new Employment and

Support Allowance which was introduced in October 2008. These people should have

been entitled to free help from the scheme and the DWP are urgently working to

establish the numbers and names. We believe the numbers affected to be small.

Once the people affected have been identified by DWP, letters will be sent to them

apologising for this error and making it clear that they can have assistance under the

Scheme for free. Anyone who has already participated in the scheme will have their

£40 re-imbursed as soon as possible.

The DWP have now made the necessary changes to the way in which they identify

people eligible for free help and are confident that this error will not happen again.

Text of Parliamentary Questions outlining the details of who will get access to the help scheme in Wales:

Digital Television

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, columns 104-5W, on digital television, how many qualifying households in each parliamentary constituency in Wales will be required to pay a £40 fee to access assistance. [138148]

Mr. Woodward: The information is not available in the form requested.

We estimate about 42 per cent. of Welsh households eligible for help will qualify for free assistance under the Digital Switchover Help Scheme; 58 per cent. of Welsh households eligible for help will qualify for assistance to which there is a £40 charge.

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the numbers of households that will qualify for assistance in switching over to digital television in each parliamentary constituency in Wales. [101661]

Mr. Woodward: Estimates of households in Wales qualifying for assistance:

Constituency

Total

Aberavon

13,000

Alyn and Deeside

9,000

Blaenau Gwent

13,000

Brecon and Radnorshire

10,000

Bridgend

13,000

Caernarfon

9,000

Caerphilly

13,000

Cardiff Central

8,000

Cardiff North

11,000

Cardiff South and Penarth

12,000

Cardiff West

10,000

Carmarthen East and Dinefwr

11,000

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

10,000

Ceredigion

10,000

Clwyd South

10,000

Clwyd West

12,000

Conwy

11,000

Cynon Valley

11,000

Delyn

9,000

Cower

12,000

Islwyn

10,000

Llanelli

14,000

Meirionnydd Nant Conwy

6,000

Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney

13,000

4 Dec 2006 : Column 105W

Monmouth

11,000

Montgomeryshire

7,000

Neath

12,000

Newport East

11,000

Newport West

11,000

Ogmore

12,000

Pontypridd

11,000

Preseli Pembrokeshire

11,000

Rhondda

14,000

Swansea East

13,000

Swansea West

12,000

Torfaen

12,000

Vale of Clwyd

12,000

Vale of Glamorgan

12,000

Wrexham

9,000

Ynys Mon

10,000

Total

440,000

1. Rounded to the nearest thousand.

2. Eligibility for help from the digital switchover help scheme will be by benefit unit rather than the whole household definition used by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Office to forecast future household growth.

3. The definition of a benefit unit is a couple and any dependent children. It excludes adults deemed to be non-dependents who, if eligible, will be able to claim assistance from the help scheme in their own right.