BBC: Licence Fee

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe Excerpts

Monday 7th November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Rawlings]

It would surprise me if the noble Lord, Lord Pearson, did not ask a European Union-related question. I do not have the statistics on the BBC’s coverage of our possible withdrawal from the EU, but no doubt the department will find them for me and I will send them to him.

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe]

My Lords, as the BBC is anxious to achieve economies, and as the BBC now knows what fees it will be charging licence fee payers over the coming years through to 2017, why does it send out reminders in February and March every year asking individuals to pay their licence fee when it could now say, “Please pay for five years at X amount”, which is probably less than the amount that people pay in one year to Sky? Why do we have annual chasing for fees when they could now be paid over several years?

[Baroness Rawlings]

The noble Lord makes a very good point, and I will take it back to the department to find out for him.