Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential health effects on pensioners who are unable to pay the TV license fee; and what steps the Government is taking to tackle potential social isolation among those pensioners.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on a range of matters. The Government is taking steps to address potential loneliness, including appointing a minister to lead work on tackling loneliness and publishing the world’s first government strategy on loneliness, as well as securing £20million of new grant-funding for projects run by charities and community groups to bring people together.