The BBC is launching a consultation period to decide how licence fees for over-75s should be paid for. The consultation period is running for 12 weeks from 20 November 2018 until 12 February 2019. Licences, which currently cost £150.50 per year, are financed by a government-funded scheme, which is due to end in 2020.
To combat pensioner poverty, the Government began funding free TV licences for the over-75s in 2000. The estimated cost to the Government at that stage was £365m. In 2015 it was decided the concession would be paid for in future by the BBC.
Older people are now living longer therefore the cost of providing the free licence is rising. At the same time, the BBC is trying to attract younger audiences whilst being in competition from the likes of Netflix or Amazon. Rapid changes in technology mean that younger audiences are increasingly consuming television and news in different ways. Similarly, in radio competition is rising from YouTube and music services like Spotify and Apple Music. These services are part of the reason why time spent listening to BBC radio has fallen from 7.5 hours a week to around 4.5 over the last decade. Younger audiences are using British services less and services from abroad much more. The average age of a BBC One viewer is now in their 60s – meaning a large proportion of people who watch BBC channels are not paying for it.
So how do the BBC intend on addressing this? – A report commissioned by the BBC forecasts that by 2021 the current arrangements will cost the Corporation £745m a year which is a fifth of their current budget. This is equates to the current amount that the BBC spend on BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, the BBC News Channel, and the children’s channels CBBC and CBeebies.
The report also said that when the funding began in 2000 almost half (46%) of households with someone aged 75 or more were among the poorest in terms of incomes. However, now pensioners are less likely than any other age group to live in poverty and older households have seen “a marked improvement” in their living standards since the policy was introduced. The report does acknowledges that some of the poorest older people would lose out under the proposed changes and, because “television can be a form of companionship”, some may be put at higher risk of social isolation if they cannot afford the fee. Reintroducing the licence fee for over-75s would also bring back the prospect of older people being prosecuted for non-payment. So the question that now faces the BBC is: what, if any, concession should be in place for older people from June 2020? Reforms to the policy may include raising the age of eligibility, introducing means-testing, possibly removing the benefit from older people who live with younger relatives.
Have your say – The BBC want to know your view on how they should proceed. To complete their questionnaire please goes to the web link www.bbc.co.uk/yoursay and complete the short questionnaire. Other formats i.e. in Welsh or Braille are available as is a paper version which can be sent out to your home address.
Do you think the free licence should be abolished or concessions put in place? Join or start the conversation.
