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Over 75s Free licence (Read 6108 times)
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Over 75s Free licence
Nov 1st, 2018, 11:17am
 
The BBC asked "Frontier Economics" to report on the future funding of the over 75's "free" TV licence.

It may be downloaded here in pdf format.



A BBC spokesperson said: “We are grateful to Frontier Economics for their full report. It is clearly the result of careful study and analysis. It will help inform the BBC’s consultation on the future of the over 75s concession once government stops funding it in 2020. There are important issues to consider and we will do nothing without consulting with the public. We will be setting out a range of options in our consultation paper. Everyone who wants to contribute will be able to do so once the consultation is published.”
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Re: Over 75s Free licence
Reply #1 - Nov 5th, 2018, 10:00am
 
So--it's abolished.Big own goal.
What happens if senior citizens over 75 refuse or accidentally forget  to pay it?
I can just see the headlines in the tabloid press as oldies are frogmarched down the cop shop for a dressing down!
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Re: Over 75s Free licence
Reply #2 - Nov 21st, 2018, 10:51pm
 
BBC Media Editor Amol Rajan has written for the BBC News site here.

The options are listed here.

The Consultation is here.


Click ... to.    "Have Your Say"..
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Dickie Mint
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Re: Over 75s Free licence
Reply #3 - Nov 29th, 2018, 4:38pm
 
Can't help feeling extremely indignant that the government are foisting the benefit they introduced onto the BBC.  And it's no mean sum.  Still government then get themselves upwards of £700M to waste spend on reducing tax for the rich or some such good deed!

There is a halfway house that saves face for the government for such a mean move and allows the BBC to avoid paying for it.

From a government document Winter Fuel Payments Update 2018 I did some maths. (Feel free to correct any misinterpretation!)

11.5 Million Winter Fuel Allowances (WFA) paid 2018/19.
That costs close to £2B.

Around 4M are entitled to Pension Credit.  A Means Tested benefit.

So, if that means testing was applied to WFA:-
11.5 - 4 million = roughly two thirds wouldn't get WFA. 2/3 £2B = £1.33B.  Much more than the cost of Over 75s TV Licence!



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Richard
 
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Re: Over 75s Free licence
Reply #4 - Nov 29th, 2018, 11:20pm
 
If the output gets much worse...and I don't think it has far to go....then I would rather keep the WFA £200 and chuck away my telly, Dickie. I suspect that the present management team are so hell-bent on satisfying the youth audience that we oldies won't find anything at all to justify paying even half the present licence fee. I don't buy into the notion that OAPs watch TV "for company". The viewing figures for daytime TV don't support that idea, either. Many OAPs would like to watch racing or cricket but now they are denied even that simple pleasure without an exorbitant SKY subscription. In our house the big black thing in the corner of the lounge is becoming increasingly irrelevant. I regard WFA as an overdue tax rebate. Hands off!
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Re: Over 75s Free licence
Reply #5 - Nov 30th, 2018, 9:44am
 
Well to be totally selfish, don't we pensioners need the BBC to keep paying towards our Pensions ?!!
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Dickie Mint
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Re: Over 75s Free licence
Reply #6 - Dec 5th, 2018, 1:27pm
 
Age UK has set up a petition to get the Government to take back funding of the Over 75's Free TV Licence.

They say:
"For over a million of our oldest citizens the TV is their constant companion and window on the world. And now it’s under threat.

The BBC is considering removing free TV licences from the over-75s.  But this is really the Government’s doing: they pushed the scheme onto the BBC without asking any of us what we think or providing the funding to sustain it.

Together, we must demand the Government takes back responsibility for funding free TV licences for everyone over 75."
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