Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential effect on BBC revenues of decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee.
The potential effect on BBC revenues of decriminalising licence fee evasion was considered as part of David Perry QC’s TV Licence Fee Enforcement Review in 2015.
The government believes that it is right to look again at whether the criminal sanction remains appropriate for TV licence fee evasion, given ongoing concerns about whether the criminal sanction is unfair and disproportionate.