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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that people over the age of 75 who cannot afford to pay for a TV licence from June 2020 will be able to (1) access content, and (2) be kept informed of current affairs, to support their continued democratic engagement.

The future of the over 75 licence fee concession is the responsibility of the BBC. In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government and the BBC agreed that responsibility for the concession would transfer to the BBC in June 2020.

However, the Government has expressed its disappointment with the BBC’s decision for taking the most narrowly focused review option. The Secretary of State has met with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director-General of the BBC and asked them to do more to help the most vulnerable groups affected by the decision.