Free OAP TV licence must stay

Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Ged Killen has said it would be “cruel” to remove free TV Licences for over 75s.

The Scottish Labour and Co-op member took part in a Westminster debate calling on the Government to maintain free licences for the elderly.

Mr Killen said charging the over 75s – who are more likely to watch live TV –could lead to more social isolation.

He said: “Is not one of the cruellest things about this that it is younger people, by and large, who have a far greater choice when it comes to TV viewing, because many of them are now using subscription services, which actually do not require a BBC licence at all and, in many cases, those services are also cheaper?

“Older people do not have that choice, so is it not very cruel that those are the people we are trying to restrict in their TV watching, which, as others have said, might lead to more social loneliness?”

Info on TV Licences can be found at www.tvlicensing.co.uk