Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will place in the Library the correspondence between the BBC and his Department from the date of the 2017 General Election on the Conservative Party's Election Manifesto pledge to maintain pensioner benefits and the policy of transferring responsibility for free TV licences for over 75s to the BBC.

There is no plan to place such correspondence in the library but the Government is clear that the future of the over 75 licence fee concession is the responsibility of the BBC.

The Government is disappointed with the BBC’s decision. People across the country value television as a way to stay connected, and the Government has asked the BBC to look at further ways to support older people.