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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a financial assessment of the effect on the public purse and the BBC agreement announced on 6 July 2015 that the BBC will fund the provision of TV Licences for those age over 75.

The financial assessment of the impact on the public purse of the agreement with the BBC to take on responsibility for funding over-75s free television licences announced on 6 July 2015 has been published in the Office For Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook, July 2015. Tables 4.13 and 4.14 on pages 110 and 111 and paragraphs 4.128 and 4.129 on page 136 detail changes in the BBC’s expenditure since the March 2015 forecast. The information can be found using the following link: http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/July-2015-EFO-234224.pdf. The impact on the Exchequer has been published in the Summer Budget 2015: policy costings document, on page 61 of the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443195/Policy_costings_summer_budget_2015.pdf