BBC spent ‘77,000 licence fees’ on an upgrade it later abandoned

THE BBC spent £11million on modernising its licence fee demand system only to abandon it after nine months.

The corporation put the upgrade out to tender in 2017, saying its system for storing addresses and mailing letters was antiquated. Work began on a £46 million “technology refresh” in March 2019 but was halted in December so resources could be diverted to implementing the over-75s policy.

Of the £11million spent – equivalent to 77,000 licence fees – £4million was “repurposed” but the remaining £7 million was lost. The corporation admitted it must now find £3-5million more to keep the old system up and running.

Details of the failed project were contained in the annual TV Licensing report, released this week alongside the BBC’S annual report. Tim Davie, the director-general, said: “Progress stalled because of the need for key resources to support the programme of changes for the new over-75 policy, which took priority. Work is now under way to extend the life of the existing systems.”

The wasted money adds to the cost of the over-75s scheme. In the report, the BBC said it expected licence fee evasion rates to rise as pensioners were beginning to be asked to pay.

The report stated that while most over-75s would “want to comply with the legal obligation to pay for a licence fee, vulnerable customers may struggle to pay for financial or health reasons and may become unwitting evaders”.

The BBC is spending £38 million on the over-75s scheme this year, which includes the cost of opening a call centre. ♦ The BBC is facing a backlash from staff threatened with redundancy after inviting them to learn a Strictly Come Dancing routine, performed by two of the show’s professionals, to boost spirits. It was accidentally posted on the BBC website for the public to see but was later removed. A spokesman said: “This was an internal initiative.”