Axe TV licence charge for over- 75s now facing a winter stuck indoors
FREE TV licences should be reinstated in the wake of the second wave of Covid- 19 restrictions, campaigners said yesterday.
Millions of pensioners are now forced back into isolation as the UK faces a tranche of new regulations.
This means elderly people will be relying on their televisions for the news and to keep loneliness at bay, campaign group Silver Voices has warned.
It wants to see the BBC halt the roll out of the policy which sees people aged 75- plus having to pay £ 157.50 a year for their TV licences.
The plan was delayed by two months, to August 1, because of the national lockdown in March.
It was felt at the time that the use of TV by older people was essential for company and for public information purposes. It was only when many lockdown restrictions were lifted, and the Government rowed back on shielding support to vulnerable households, that the BBC moved to implement the scrapping of free licences.
But campaigners said the TV will be just as essential for shielding pensioners this time round.
Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, said: “If it was right to delay implementation of licence fees for the over- 75s in June and July, it is just as right now as we enter the second wave. The Government is pausing or reversing the lifting of restrictions and it should tell the BBC to do the same on licence fees. There is no reason why payments should not be paused for six months for the over- 75s, and in the minority of cases where payments have already been made, credit notes issued.
“All sectors of the economy are having to tighten their belts and if the BBC can afford the massive celebrity salaries we have just seen publicised, it should be able to afford to pause licence fees for hardpressed older people”.
Last week the BBC announced that Match Of
The Day host Gary Lineker was paid £ 1.75million for the year to March, although he has since taken a pay cut.
Radio 2 breakfast show DJ Zoe Ball is now the highest- paid woman working for the
£ 1.36million.
Jan Shortt, general secretary of the National Pensioners’ Convention said: “The BBC should ask the Government for extra funding to delay the collection of licence fees from the most vulnerable viewers in light of the imminent second wave and the restrictions on meeting family and friends.” A BBC spokesman said: “We took the fairest decision possible to ensure around 1.5 million over- 75 households receive free licences, while protecting services across the BBC. We recognise some people may need extra support which is why TV Licensing has expanded its customer support call centre and provided a free telephone helpline where customers can receive recorded information.” broadcaster on