BBC advised to scrap free TV licences for over-75s
THE BBC has been told to consider scrapping free TV licences for the over75s to save money after a report claimed there is little need for the concession.
Campaigners for the elderly said that the move would be “purely economic”, ignoring the true needs of the elderly and denying them a “window to the world”.
Economic consultants commissioned by the broadcaster claim the cost of providing a free BBC service to over-75s would exceed £1bn a year in a decade’s time.
The report by Frontier Economics said pensioners are now wealthier and healthier, so financial relief and the company afforded by TV are not needed as much.
BBC bosses were advised to change the age threshold for the concession, alter the value of the discount or scrap the free licence completely.
The free licence is already expected to cost the BBC £745mn – £100m more than its entire radio budget – by the time the concession runs out in 2020.
A report has suggested three main options for the corporation – which has faced making major savings and a loss of revenue due to the licence fee freeze – none of which involve keeping the free licence in its current form.
The cost-saving move has been criticised by Caroline Abrahams, director of the Age UK charity.
She said: “This report looks at the TV licence concession for over-75s in purely economic terms and from the point of view of the BBC, but in doing so it underplays or sometimes omits a number of important issues from the perspective of older people.
“There are two million people aged 75-plus, one in two of whom is disabled and one in four of whom views the television as their main form of companionship.”