Ending free TV licence ‘may force OAPs to scrimp on food’

FOUR in ten over-75s will have to cut back on food and heating or give up their televisions if they are forced to pay for TV licences, Age UK has warned.

The charity said a fifth of those affected would simply be unable to pay the annual £150.50 charge. Another fifth would only be able to do so by cutting back on the essentials.

The BBC struck a deal with the Government in 2015 to meet the cost of free licences for the over-75s – previously paid for by the Department for Work and Pensions – from 2020. The cost is set to rise from £655million a year to pass £1billion by 2029.

In exchange, the BBC was allowed to increase the fee in line with inflation and close the so-called ‘iPlayer loophole’ – meaning viewers need a licence even if they only watch catchup services, instead of live TV.

The broadcaster will decide later this year whether to continue providing free licences beyond 2020.

Age UK warned that withdrawing the perk would deprive about a million elderly Britons of a key source of comfort. The charity’s director Caroline Abrahams called for the Government to foot the bill, adding: ‘[They] created this problem and it is in their power to solve it.’