TALKING POLITICS Over-75s must get TV for free

The BBC has launched a public consultation on whether pensioners over the age of 75 should continue to get their free television licence from June 2020, when the current governmentfunded scheme ends.

My view is that these older pensioners must continue to get their free television licences.

I, for one, would not object to paying extra for my licence fee if the money is used to help pensioners in this way.

I am especially keen to ensure that older pensioners living on their own should get the free licence; often it is the only daily contact they have with the outside world.

Many of our elderly citizens are housebound, unable to get out much, if at all. Others are suffering from loneliness and rely on the television for company.

For those pensioners whose only income is a state pension, not having to pay £150.50 annually for a television licence is a big saving.

It’s equivalent to a pension increase of nearly £3 a week.

The BBC clearly grudges the cost of funding the licence fee for over-75 year olds after it takes over this responsibility from the government in 2020.

It claims the cost will be £745 million a year by 2021-22 – equivalent to what it spends today on all of BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, the BBC News Channel, CBBC and CBeebies.

The BBC’s consultation puts forward a number of options, including abolishing the free licence for over-75 year olds, charging them for 50 per cent of the licence fee, raising the age from 75 to 80 and introducing means testing.

None of these options are acceptable in my view.

A sensible compromise would be for the government in London to pay for half the cost of providing a free licence to the over-75s, with the BBC and commercial channels jointly funding the other 50 per cent.

Companies like Sky, ITV, Channels 4 and 5 and Netflix can easily afford to help out in this way.

This compromise should be offered to the BBC in return for it agreeing to stop paying excessive salaries and spending a much higher share of its budget in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions instead of pouring so much of our licence fee money into its Londonbased operation.

Many elderly citizens are housebound... others are suffering from loneliness and rely on the television for company

Unsound footing? The over-75s’ ability to watch shows like Strictly Come Dancing (pictured) could be affected by the outcome of the BBC’s public consultation on whether they should continue to get free television licences from June 2020