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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people over the age of 75 have been subject to court action for the non-payment of TV Licence in each of the last five years.

Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)

Collecting and enforcing the Licence Fee is the responsibility of the BBC. The BBC has recently confirmed that no enforcement action has been taken against over-75s for TV licence evasion at this stage.

The Government has been clear that the BBC must ensure that it supports those affected by its decision on the over-75s concession, and we expect them to do so with the utmost sensitivity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many over 75's have been subject to court action for the non-payment of TV Licence.

Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)

Collecting and enforcing the Licence Fee is the responsibility of the BBC. The BBC has recently confirmed that no enforcement action has been taken against over-75s for TV licence evasion at this stage.

The Government has been clear that the BBC must ensure that it supports those affected by its decision on the over-75s concession, and we expect them to do so with the utmost sensitivity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many over 75's have been subject to court action for the non-payment of TV Licence in each of the last three years for which data is available.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Collecting and enforcing the Licence Fee is the responsibility of the BBC. The BBC has recently confirmed that no enforcement action has been taken against over-75s for TV licence evasion at this stage.

The Government has been clear that the BBC must ensure that it supports those affected by its decision on the over-75s concession, and we expect them to do so with the utmost sensitivity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will undertake a review of the provisions of the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 on the eligibility criteria for a concessionary TV licence for people over the age of 60 and living in sheltered accommodation with more than one room.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

TV Licence concessions are available to people who are registered blind or severely sight impaired, people living in qualifying residential care who are disabled or over 60 years old, and people aged 75 and over in receipt of Pension Credit.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the cost of TV licenses for elderly people during the cost of living crisis.

Answered by Matt Warman

The global cost of living is rising and this Government is committed to supporting households as much as possible during these difficult times. When setting the level of the licence fee earlier this year, the Government had to think very carefully about the impact that any increase would have on households.

Therefore, on 17 January, the Secretary of State announced that the licence fee will be frozen at £159 until April 2024, before rising with inflation until April 2028. This settlement aims to support all households at a time when they need that support the most.

The Government remains deeply disappointed with the BBC's decision to restrict the over 75 licence fee concession to only those in receipt of Pension Credit. We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe they should be funded by the BBC. The BBC must look at how it uses its substantial licence fee income to support older people.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people aged over 75 in a) Luton South b) East of England and c) England have been identified as not paying the TV Licence fee since the end of the over-75s concession in August 2020.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold this information. Under the Communications Act (2003), a fee for a television licence is payable to the BBC. The enforcement and administration for non-payment of the licence fee is the responsibility of the BBC as a body independent from the government.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines have been issued to people over 75 for non-payment of TV licences for the calendar year of 2021.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence

In the calendar year of 2021, there have been 0 fines issued to people over 75 for the non-payment of TV licences.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2022 to Question 104346 on Television Licences: Older People, what discussions she has had with the BBC in relation to the conduct of Capita in enforcing payment of the TV Licence from people who are over 75.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Secretary of State has raised the issue of enforcement action against the over-75s for TV Licence Fee evasion with the BBC.

The BBC has confirmed that no enforcement action has been taken against over-75s for TV licence evasion at this stage.

The Secretary of State has been clear that the BBC must ensure that it supports those affected by its decision on the over-75s concession and we expect them to do so with the utmost sensitivity.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines have been issued to people over 75 for non-payment of TV licences since the removal of the free TV licence concession.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence

Between the removal of the free TV licence concession as of August 2020 and December 2020 (latest published data available), there have been 0 fines issued to people over 75 for non-payment of TV licences.

National statistics on the number of fines issued under TV licence evasion for the calendar year of 2021 are due for publication in May 2022.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of demand letters for non-payment of the TV Licence fee that have been sent to people who are over 75 years of age.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

More than nine in ten over-75s customers have now made arrangements for a free or paid licence, or updated the BBC on a change in their circumstances. The BBC has provided assurances to the government that its letter writing policy has not changed since the over-75s concession was removed.

The Secretary of State has been clear that the BBC must ensure that it supports those affected by its decision on the over-75s concession and we expect them to do so with the utmost sensitivity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had recent discussions with Capita on collecting non-payment of TV Licence fines from people who are over 75.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Government has not had any recent discussions with Capita on the issue of TV Licencing. Responsibility for collecting and enforcing the Licence Fee is the responsibility of the BBC.

We expect the BBC to ensure that it supports those affected by its decision on the over-75s concession with the utmost sensitivity.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the removal of free TV licences for people aged over 75 on people affected by that change in (a) Newport West constituency and (b) Wales.

Answered by Simon Hart

The Government recognises the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believes they should be funded by the BBC. Television is important to people of all ages, particularly for older people across the UK, including those in Newport West and Wales as a whole, who may value television as a way to stay connected with the world.

The Digital Economy Act 2017 provides that the future of the licence fee concession is the responsibility of the BBC, not the government. The BBC must look at how it uses its substantial licence fee income to support older people. The BBC must also ensure it provides support to those affected by its decision on the over-75s concession and we expect them to do so with the utmost sensitivity.