Free TV licences for the over 75's

[Margaret Pilkington]

The BBC is set to axe free TV licences for the over 75's in June next year.
The history of free TV licences for older people is that it was paid for by the DWP.
However, in a deal brokered by George Osborne when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was agreed that the BBC would continue to provide this service if they could raise the cost of the TV licence.....so the TV licence went up.....and the BBC promised to keep it free....they even said they would be 'ahead' in this deal.
So now they have reneged on this promise.

Only those in receipt of pension credit will be exempt from this tax(it is a tax).
Now, many older people will just be over the limit to claim this benefit.....and many of those who would qualify are reluctant to apply as they are in the generation of the 'proud'.
There is currently a petition running to get this decision debated in Parliament.
I am going to post a link....please will you sign this?

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/234627

For many older people who are housebound, their TV is the only voice they can be sure to hear daily....it is their link to,the outside world.
All of us know someone elderly who likes their TV, but is on limited funds.
In spite of what some people would have you believe there are a lot of pensioners out there who are not rich....who get few pleasures in life.
Thank you in advance

[cashman]

Last week they said how brave these people were, this week they take the licences away from em. lying fecking hypocrites imho

[Ryewolf90]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

and the BBC promised to keep it free....they even said they would be 'ahead' in this deal.

I think the people who did the maths on this ought to go back to school.... according to various websites funding free licences for everyone over 75 would cost £745m by 2021/22, even with the new scheme will cost the BBC around £250 million by 2021/22.


Basically, the government decided to stop paying for the free TV licences and gave the BBC responsibility to decide....

[Margaret Pilkington]

There was never any doubt as to how outcome would be reached.
Yes, but this was part of a deal with the government......the cost of the licence went up.....and the BBC promised that they would continue to provide services for the elderly.

The Beeb pay many of their presenters and backroom staff more than the PM.....so maybe th should get the accountants in and see where they can make cuts in that direction.

I guess if these elderly folk decide not to pay, then the prisons will be full of warm, well nourished old folk who are happily watching TV in a prison cell.
It comes to something when criminals are treated better than the elderly.

[Ryewolf90]

The BBC should have no part in deciding social policies like this, on who and whom should get a free licence. The blame lies entirely at the feet of the government.

They were also given the freedom to to choose how they provided services based on consultations, of 190,000 asked 52% were in favour of reforming or abolishing free licence scheme.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Yes you are right, it was a sneaky trick.
Yes I know that the consultation was in favour by a margin of 52%-48%......but I would like to see WHO they asked and how the question was couched.
190,000 is not a lot when 3.5 million older people are the ones affected.
It can only be hoped that perhaps the government can take back the responsibility for this.....and restore the licence.

My mum(not here anymore) would have been one of those seriously affected.
In the last years of her life she relied on TV a lot....but was ineligible for pension. Credit as her totall per annum was something like £47 above the threshold.
So I know that it does make a huge difference in the lives of the older generation.

My feeling is that the TV licence should be scrapped for everyone and the BBC made a subscription service...that way those who watch what is produced can pay for it.
It is NO longer the public service broadcasting company that it was when the charter was first granted.

[cashman]

A friend of ours her husband is £5 above the limit, he is in really poor health and only pleasure these days is tv, but things like that dont matter a fig to these barstewards responsible for this.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I really feel for those who are lonely, have no visitors, rely on TV for 'company'.

I used to visit my mum every day, but she still got lots of pleasure from her TV.....and when she could not sleep in the early hours of the morning, she would watch it in bed.

Another drawback to Pension credit is that the forms are difficult for some old folk to fill in.....and many do not want 'snoopers' looking at their finances....it is not because they have a lot of money, it is just that they do not trust people.

It would be better to say that all pensioners get their licence for a reduced fee. Or better still....ditch the fee for everyone!

It was promised that the licence fee would remain free to over 75's 'for the duration of this Parliament ' that was in the Tory party manifesto.....so another pie-crust promise.

[Michael1954]

I have signed the petition and so has my mum. I think it’s about time the licence was scrapped altogether. The BBC should receive its funding by advertising as other TV companies have to do.

[cashman]

As its no longer owned by Government i cannot think of a good reason why not to be honest.

[Margaret Pilkington]

The BBC is owned by the public. It has a royal Charter and this runs until 2026...when it is due to be renewed.
The BBC spends vast sums of money on slaries of so called 'stars'...the likes of Chris Evans and Gary Lineker...their combined salaries amount to something like 3.5 million pounds.
The BBC gets 3.7billion pounds from licence fees(they call it a fee, but in truth it is a tax).
It spent 1billion pounds on refurbishing the London HQ.
87 million went on a new set for Eastenders.
34 million on taxi transport.Bosses at the Beeb carved up 17million pound in salaries.
setting up a base at Salford cost another 224 million pounds.

so the question should be 'Shouldn't they cut their coat according to the cloth?'

George Osborne should never have been allowed to hand over the responsibility for the service to the BBC....but that said, the BBC PROMISED that if it were allowed to raise the licence fees in the budget, the over 75's would continue to get their free licences.
It was also a promise that was reiterated in the last Tory party manifesto.
So neither politicians, nor the BBC come out of this with any kind of integrity.

[Exile on Spencer St]

Originally Posted by Ryewolf90

They were also given the freedom to to choose how they provided services based on consultations, of 190,000 asked 52% were in favour of reforming or abolishing free licence scheme.

I wonder, Ryewolf, if you got this analysis off the BBC itself?
The BBC is well versed in manipulating statistics and presenting them as if they are hard facts and just about every news item on its website and radio channels (don’t know about TV as we don’t have one) has been pushing this 52% lie.

However, the actual consultation response was that 37% of the public wanted what the BBC has decided. 15% wanted the tax abolished completely. But the single biggest proportion was the 48% who did NOT want any change. The BBC simply combined the first two and claimed that 52% voted for “some form of change” (read its report, it took some finding, believe me).
This is typical of the misinformation for which more and more of us realise the BBC is quite happy to put out if it suits its political agenda.

So, notwithstanding its manipulations, the BBC is quite content to see 52% as an overwhelming endorsement of its actions.
Funny, though how exactly the same 52% for a vote to leave the EU has not prevented the BBC spending the last three years promoting the ‘rights’ of the 48% who voted remain.

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/abouttheb...n-document.pdf

[Margaret Pilkington]

Yes....I read that about the stats too.
If the BBC told me it was daylight I would go to the window to check it was telling the truth.
It is one of the most biased of the media.....parroting PC loony left dogma.....and portraying anything else as evil.

On the day the news about this issue broke....the BBC hardly mentioned it....it was a low level piece of news....well until other news channels started reporting it.

I have signed the petition....and the one being carried out by Age UK.....which is a bigger petition.
The elderly are seen as a burden....and much is made of the myth that the current old folk are better off than ever before.....but many are asset rich and cash poor.

A society should be judged on how it treats the elderly...they are the ones that ensured many of the freedoms we enjoy.....and they were the ones who rebuilt the country after two wars and they are being betrayed.

[Margaret Pilkington]

The petition has now hit the threshold where is should be discussed by the government.....hope they don't wait until they have sorted Brexit.

[Ryewolf90]

Originally Posted by Exile on Spencer St

I wonder, Ryewolf, if you got this analysis off the BBC itself?

I found it via MSN on the Express website, but as you say stats can be manipulated.