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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the over 75s TV licence fee is kept under review during the covid-19 outbreak.

Following discussion between the BBC and the Government, and recognising the exceptional circumstances of the national Coronavirus situation, the BBC Board decided to postpone the start of its new restricted policy on over 75 licence fees to 1 August this year. The BBC has promised to keep the issue under review as the situation continues to evolve. The Secretary of State said on 20 May 2020 during the government’s daily Coronavirus briefing: ‘I very much hope that if we are in a similar situation come the beginning of August the BBC will show similar flexibility again’. The BBC remains responsible for the administration of the concession and it will be responsible for setting out what those affected will need to do.