The BBC has confirmed that over-75 TV licence reforms WILL take effect from 1st August 2020, despite widespread opposition and rumours of a further postponement.
Since the over-75 TV licence was introduced in the year 2000, the concession has been available to every household with at least one occupant aged 75 years or older.
Until now the concession was funded by the Government, but under the terms of its latest Royal Charter the BBC accepted full liability for payment of the over-75 TV licence from 2020 in return for:
- the removal of the six-year TV licence price freeze;
- the closure of the so-called iPlayer loophole;
- reduced contributions towards the national roll out of broadband;
- reduced contributions towards Welsh-language broadcaster S4C.
You can read details of the agreement reached between the Government and BBC in these letters (here and here).
The BBC was perfectly happy with the deal at the time, with the Director General, Tony Hall, saying: "Far from being a cut, the way this financial settlement is shaped gives us, effectively, flat licence fee income across the first five years of the next charter."
Despite the Government making clear to the BBC that it wished the over-75 TV licence to be retained beyond 2020, the Corporation has decided to renege on its part of the bargain by scaling back the concession.
Under the BBC's toughened eligibility criteria the "free" TV licence will only be available to those over-75 households with an occupant in receipt of pension credit.
Under the new rules around 3.7 million households that currently receive a "free" over-75 TV licence will have to pay the full licence fee if they wish to continue viewing TV programmes (or BBC on-demand programmes via the iPlayer). Unsurprisingly, many over-75s are outraged at the idea of having to pay for a perk they now view as an automatic entitlement.
Pensioners who claim an over-75 TV licence but fail to provide evidence of their entitlement to pension credit will be targeted by the new TV Licensing "outreach team", which will be employed by the existing operations contractor Capita Business Services Ltd.
BBC Chairman, Sir David Clementi, said: "The decision to commence the new scheme in August has not been easy, but implementation of the new scheme will be Covid-19 safe. The BBC could not continue delaying the scheme without impacting on programmes and services.
"Around 1.5 million households could get free TV licences if someone is over 75 and receives Pension Credit, and 450,000 of them have already applied. And critically it is not the BBC making that judgement about poverty. It is the Government who sets and controls that measure.
"Like most organisations the BBC is under severe financial pressure due to the pandemic, yet we have continued to put the public first in all our decisions. I believe continuing to fund some free TV licences is the fairest decision for the public, as we will be supporting the poorest oldest pensioners without impacting the programmes and services that all audiences love."
The BBC has said that the reforms - which it estimates will have an annual cost of £250 million by 2021/22 - are the fairest way of helping the most vulnerable, financially disadvantaged pensioner households.
Despite its regular pleas of poverty, only a fortnight ago the BBC announced £100m towards a totally needless creative diversity initiative. It wasn't all that long ago the Corporation spent £80m on a new Eastenders set and chalked up losses of £100m by abandoning its failed digital media initiative. Make no mistake that the BBC has cash to burn whenever it suits it to.
The reforms were initially planned for 1st June, but the BBC Board decided to delay them by two months due to the coronavirus crisis. According to the BBC that act of benevolence cost £75 million in lost TV licence revenue.
Age UK has said it is bitterly disappointed with the BBC's decision to go ahead with the changes.
Caroline Abrahams, director of the charity, said: "At Age UK we're bitterly disappointed by this decision on behalf of the millions of over 75s who have had a torrid time over the last few months and for whom this must feel like another kick in the teeth, during a terrible year.
"Many older people on low incomes have told us that if they have to find £150 plus a year to pay for a licence then they will have to forego some other essential, or try to survive without TV at all.
"We genuinely worry about the mental health of older people living on their own in this situation if they have to give up their cherished TV - for some it really is all they have and their main way of alleviating their chronic loneliness."
A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister's view was that the BBC had made the wrong decision.
The BBC is currently operating at around a third the normal staffing level, which is testament to its bloated staffing structure and institutional profligacy. It could easily afford to retain the full over-75 TV concession if it prioritised spending away from super-inflated salaries, trendy-left initiatives and employing people in non-jobs.
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