‘I want your views on free TV licences for over-75s in our city’

Free TV licences for over-75s were introduced in 2000.

Currently, a free TV licence is available to all households that have at least one person aged over 75 living there.

Ministers promised that people over 75 would continue to receive free TV licences until the end of this parliament in 2022, but the government has now pulled this funding.

I believe that free TV licences help tackle loneliness and social isolation.

Four in 10 older people say TV is their main source of company.

Age UK has warned that scrapping the free licence could push some pensioners into poverty.

Formal consultation has been undertaken to decide what, if any, concession should be available for over-75s after June 2020, but I am also keen to hear views from fellow Portsmouth residents in my constituency.

Several potential options have been proposed, including to require older people to pay a licence fee, but at a reduced rate; to raise the age threshold; or meanstesting.

The consequences of any change are significant.

In our area, 5,130 households currently receive a free television licence.

I know some Portsmouth pensioners will be able to afford a TV licence, but I also know many will not.

I believe that the free TV licence for over 75s should remain and that the government should step in and save TV licences for older people.

I encourage any resident in Portsmouth South to share their views on this important national issue of local concern.

Please get in touch with me via email, phone or by dropping by the constituency office at 72 Albert Road, Southsea. MP for Portsmouth South House of Commons, Westminster