BBC losing up to £291m a year due to fee-dodging, report says

Television licence fee collectors have been attacked for their “poor” performance, amid high levels of evasion and plummeting enforcement rates.

The BBC is losing up to £291 million a year through fee-dodging, according to a committee of MPs.

Successful enforcement cases under Capita fell by nearly a fifth and it has failed to drive down evasion, with the worst offenders Scottish and Northern Irish viewers, the probe found.

The licence fee evasion rate is estimated to be between 6.2% and 7.2% across the UK, rising to 9% in Northern Ireland and 10% in Scotland. Collectors often find homes empty as more than half of visits take place during working hours, the Public Accounts Committee said.

MPs said they are “concerned” by the conduct of Capita staff, after reports some targeted vulnerable residents while trying to boost collection rates. They also hit out at the extra costs imposed on viewers who pay the licence fee quarterly via direct debit payments.

“Altogether, the BBC and Capita have much to do to improve evasion and enforcement performance,” the PAC report said.

It comes as a separate report found the number of senior managers in the BBC earning more than £150,000 went up despite promises of a 20% cut.

Over five years, the BBC cut the cost of its payroll workforce by 6% in real terms and reduced its senior management pay bill by £17.1 million.

But the number of managers on top-level salaries rose from 89 in 2012 to 98 last year, said the National Audit Office.