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Written question asked by Paul Sweeney (Labour) on Wednesday, 26 June 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 1 July 2019 (named day). It was answered by Robert Buckland (Conservative) on Monday, 1 July 2019 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.


Television Licences: Older People

Question

To ask the Minister for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the potential increase in the number of prosecutions there will be of people over 75 who have not paid for a TV licence from June 2020.

Answer

The lead department on TV licencing is the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DDCMS).

The responsibility for TV licence fee concessions will pass from government to the BBC in June 2020, at which time the BBC has taken the decision to end free TV licences for all over 75s.

The Ministry of Justice has reviewed prosecution data between 1992 and 1999 for TV licence fee evasion, prior to the introduction of the concession, and established that there were no prosecutions of defendants over the age of 75 during this period.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
269763
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Prosecutions Older people Non-payment Television licences
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk