Free TV licence for over-75s will be means tested from August 1, BBC confirms 

A move to scrap the free TV licence for over-75s from the start of August is ‘a kick in the teeth for millions’, according to age charities.

The BBC today announced that more than three million households face paying the £157.50 fee next month after controversial plans to end free licences for pensioners over the age threshold were given the green light.

While an estimated 1.5 million households could still be exempt from paying to watch live television or use the BBC iPlayer service if someone over the age of 75 receives pension credits, charities and MPs from both sides of the chamber have slammed the decision to end the free access, which has been an invaluable lifeline for the elderly during lockdown.

Age UK, which inspired more than 630,000 people to sign a petition against the proposals when they were first announced last year, described the announcement as ‘a kick in the teeth for millions of over 75s who have had a torrid time during this crisis’.

Culture minister Matt Warman said the move was ‘deeply frustrating’, while Labour’s shadow culture secretary Jo Stevens accused the government of ‘betrayal’ by not funding the service.

The free TV licence for over-75s will be means-tested from August 1, meaning more than three million households will be asked to start paying the £157.50 fee

What over-75s will need to do to secure a TV licence from August 1

The BBC says people aged 75 or over will remain fully covered by their existing free licence until July 31. 

No one needs to take any immediate action, or leave their home, to claim for a free TV licence or pay for one, according to the corporation, as TV Licensing will be writing to all over 75 licence holders with clear guidance. 

For those who now need to pay, they have a range of options and can choose to pay weekly, fortnightly, or monthly, if they don’t want to pay the licence fee all in one go.

Specialist telephone contact centres have been set up and people can also go online to complete the process.

The change was originally due to be made on June 1, but the move was put on hold back in March, with bosses claiming the coronavirus pandemic had created ‘exceptional circumstances’ and that ‘now is not the right time’. 

Delaying the move has cost the corporation some £35million a month, and, with an ageing population, the total cost to the BBC could have reached £1bn a year, bosses said. 

The free TV licence was introduced in 2000, but the BBC agreed to take on responsibility for funding the scheme as part of the charter agreement hammered out with the Government in 2015. 

There have previously been warnings that allowing the licence to continue being free for all over 75 would lead to ‘unprecedented closures’ of services.   

The broadcaster, which faces increased competition from streaming giants, has said it cannot afford to take on the financial burden from the Government.

Continuing with the Government scheme would have cost the corporation £745 million, the BBC said, meaning the closures of BBC Two, BBC Four, the BBC News Channel, the BBC Scotland channel, Radio 5 Live, and a number of local radio stations, as well as other cuts and reductions.

But the move provoked a swathe of criticism, with the likes of Dame Helen Mirren calling the end of the universal entitlement ‘heartbreaking’, and former prime minister Gordon Brown saying ‘costs should be covered by the Government’.

The decision comes as the Government is set to announce its response to a consultation on decriminalising licence fee evasion.

The proposals sparked outrage when they were announced last year, with more than 630,000 people signing a petition set up by the charity Age UK, calling for action to be taken

The proposals sparked outrage when they were announced last year, with more than 630,000 people signing a petition set up by the charity Age UK, calling for action to be taken

The Government launched an eight-week consultation in February which received more than 100,00 responses.

A report in May suggested that hundreds of people had opted to cancel their TV licence each day over the past five months.

The broadcaster has launched a programme of voluntary redundancy as it attempts to make £125 million in savings this year – on top of the previous £800 million savings target – due to the pandemic.

It has also announced job cuts in TV news and local radio in England and said it was axing more than 150 roles in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It also plans to cut around 450 jobs in BBC News, to take place at a later date.

The broadcaster said safety would be at the ‘heart’ of the scheme’, as ‘no-one needs to take any immediate action, or leave their home, to claim for a free TV licence or pay for one’.

BBC Chairman, Sir David Clementi, said: ‘The decision to commence the new scheme in August has not been easy, but implementation of the new scheme will be Covid-19 safe. 

‘The BBC could not continue delaying the scheme without impacting on programmes and services.

‘Around 1.5 million households could get free TV licences if someone is over 75 and receives Pension Credit, and 450,000 of them have already applied. 

‘And critically it is not the BBC making that judgement about poverty. It is the Government who sets and controls that measure.

The government has provided free TV licences for the over-75s since 2000, but responsibility for the provision now rests with the BBC.

The government has provided free TV licences for the over-75s since 2000, but responsibility for the provision now rests with the BBC.

A look at the history of the TV licence

In the 1920s, the Government took the decision not to allow the fledgling BBC to fund itself using commercial advertising and instead required people to buy a licence in order to receive their broadcasts.

The first wireless licence was issued in November 1923 for 10 shillings (50p), and by the end of that year 200,000 had been issued.

The number of active licences continued to rise dramatically, with 2.5 million issued in 1928.

The first combined radio and television licence was issued in 1946 for £2.

A supplementary licence for colour TVs was introduced in 1968.

Black and white TV licences still remain available, and as of the end of September 2019, 6,586 were being used.

In 1971, radio-only licences were abolished, along with the requirement to have a licence for car radios.

The BBC was made responsible for administration of the licence fee as a result of the Broadcasting Act 1990, and the corporation now sub-contracts the work.

In 2015, the Government and BBC reached a settlement which meant the broadcaster had to find savings of £800 million by 2021/22.

It also saw the corporation commit to taking on responsibility for the funding of free licences for the over-75s.

The corporation subsequently announced that the free licence benefit would be restricted to those in the age bracket who claim pension credit, because the financial burden of providing it to all those eligible was too great.

The policy change was due to being in June, but was delayed because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with many over-75s forced to stay at home and shield.

Anyone who watches or records programmes on a TV, computer or other device must buy a TV licence – along with those who watch or downloads shows on BBC iPlayer.

There were 25,752,560 TV licences in force in the UK in 2018/19, according to TV Licensing, a decrease on the 25,836,495 in 2017/2018.

In April, a Government consultation on decriminalising licence fee evasion closed after receiving more than 100,000 responses.

‘Like most organisations the BBC is under severe financial pressure due to the pandemic, yet we have continued to put the public first in all our decisions. 

‘I believe continuing to fund some free TV licences is the fairest decision for the public, as we will be supporting the poorest oldest pensioners without impacting the programmes and services that all audiences love.’

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairman Julian Knight described the decision as a ‘body blow to millions of British pensioners’, saying he had hoped the Government and the BBC would thrash out ‘a fresh deal’.

The Conservative MP said: ‘This mess is a result of a poor decision struck by the outgoing director-general and now Britain’s pensioners are having to pick up the cost.’

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK charity director, added: ‘We know from talking to older people that many are feeling anxious and depressed, and frightened about what the future may hold in terms of the virus.

This is particularly the case for all those who are alone, for whom their TV is more of a lifeline than ever.

Broadcasting union Bectu said the Government should pay for the entitlement.

Its head Philippa Childs said: ‘This BBC has been put in an impossible position by the Government on free licences… It should never have had to choose between charging over-75s and losing essential revenue.

‘The BBC’s role is to inform educate and entertain the nation, not make welfare or benefit decisions. That is the role of government and it is the Government who should be administering and funding this benefit.’

Jo Stevens, Labour’s Shadow Culture Secretary, said: ‘The refusal of the Government to fund this vital service after promising to do so is nothing short of betrayal.

‘Many over-75s have spent months at home with TV providing an invaluable source of company during the pandemic. 

‘For the Government to blame the BBC who are having to contend with huge cuts is simply passing the buck.’

Before the announcement was made, shadow minister Christian Matheson told the Commons this morning that the proposals meant many pensioners could be ‘forced to choose between eating and watching TV’.

He added: ‘The BBC is cutting jobs and content to pay for the cost of the licence dumped on them by the government.’

Culture minister Matt Warman replied: ‘The fact is that the BBC has had a generous licence fee settlement and it is deeply disappointing that they have chosen to go down the path that they apparently are going down.

‘I would hope that there is time to reconsider that because [Mr Matheson] is right to say that television has been a vital comfort for many people in the last few months and it’s a vital part of our national economy as well.’