Unacceptable to take free TV licence from older people, says MP

by
4th February 2019
MP Bill Esterson has backed a Labour campaign to keep TV licences free for over 75s. 
The BBC launched a consultation on whether to start charging older people the £150.50-per-year fee last year, or to means test the benefit, in a bid to cut costs.
 
But the Sefton Central MP and Shadow Business Minister said charging over 75s for a TV licence for the first time since 2000 would be the wrong response to the Corporation’s need to save money.

 

Recent research by Age UK showed that scrapping the free TV licence for over-75s could push 50,000 people into relative poverty. Single people would be hardest hit.

The charity says the Government should stump up the cash to keep TV licences free.

Mr Esterson said: “Being forced to pay for a TV licence could lead to older people cutting back on other essentials like heating and food. Means testing is a really inefficient way of distributing a benefit like a free TV licence.

“There is a perception that older people are all now well off but that is absolutely not the case especially in my constituency which has some of the highest numbers of pensioners in the country.”

Mr Esterson added: “Free TV licences for the over-75s were introduced by the last Labour Government to reduce pensioner poverty. The Government agreed to compensate the BBC directly for the lost revenue. The Conservatives changed that in 2015, so now the BBC has to subsidise it, costing them £750m a year.

“Television can be vital to older people who are at a high risk of social isolation so it would be totally unacceptable to start thinking about taking this off people as they get older.”

The BBC says it would have to make cuts to its programming budget and possibly close channels if it continued to provide services free to over-75s. One of the proposals is to give a free TV licence only to those low-income pensioners who are claiming pension credit.

In Parliament this week, Labour MP Liz McInnes raised the issue, saying that many older people in her constituency of Heywood and Middleton don’t claim the pension credit that they are entitled to, so linking the free TV licence to pension credit could mean many of those who need it miss out.

In response, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Wright, said: “There are many options laid out by the BBC in this consultation and not all of them will find favour. It’s right that the BBC are consulting in an open way and they must consider carefully all the views they receive before deciding their next move.”

Mr Esterson added: “The 2017 Conservative manifesto included a pledge to maintain the free TV licence. It is typical of this Government to go back on their commitment and let older people down. There are many pensioners who are struggling to make ends meet, who do not claim pension credit. Making them pay for their TV licence could have disastrous consequences and it is reprehensible of the Conservatives to even suggest this might happen.”

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