Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the effect of the removal of free TV licenses on people aged over 75 in (a) Newport West constituency and (b) Wales.

The Government remains deeply disappointed with the BBC’s decision to restrict the over-75 licence fee concession to only those in receipt of pension credit. We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s across the UK, including those in the Newport West constituency and Wales as a whole and believe they should be funded by the BBC.

In the 2015 funding settlement, the government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession would transfer to the BBC in June 2020. This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament. This legislation provides that the future of the concession is the responsibility of the BBC, not of the government.

The Government has been clear that the BBC must ensure that it supports those affected by its decision, and it must look at how it uses its substantial licence fee income to support older people.