BBC To Fund Free TV Licences For Over-75s

The BBC will take on the cost of free TV licences for over-75s from 2020/21, the Culture Secretary has confirmed.

John Whittingdale said he was pleased the broadcaster has agreed to "play its part in contributing to reductions in spending like much of the rest of the public sector" while further reducing its "reliance on taxpayers".

He said the process will be phased in from 2018/19.

The move would generate savings of £650m for the Government as part of £12bn in welfare cuts to be announced in Wednesday's Budget, according to The Sunday Times.

In an email to BBC staff, Director-General Tony Hall said his "approach throughout has been to secure the best possible outcome for our audiences".

He said: "I believe that the arrangements we have agreed with the Government will deliver financial stability."

BBC Trust Chairman Rona Fairhead said in a letter to Mr Whittingdale and Chancellor George Osborne that she would not "obstruct" the decision but added she could not "endorse the process by which it has been reached".

She said: "The Trust has a specific duty to represent the interests of licence fee payers.

"We are disappointed that they have not been given any say in the major decisions about the BBC's future funding."

Mr Whittingdale also announced legislation will be brought forward in the next year to "modernise the licence fee" to cover public service broadcast catch-up TV - an apparent nod towards allowing charging for people who opt to use the iPlayer.

The BBC licence fee of £145.50 is also expected to rise in line with the consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation, he added.

The Tory frontbencher also said the Government will "consider carefully" the case for decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee.

Mr Bryant said the announcement from Mr Whittingdale revealed a "shabby little deal".

Shadow culture secretary Chris Bryant said Labour would oppose the Government's plans if they are a "smash-and-grab raid" on the BBC.

He said: "If there is a means of protecting the public finances and at the same time securing the BBC's future, we will wholeheartedly support it.

"But if this is just a smash-and-grab raid on the BBC, if it ends up undermining the BBC, then we will oppose you every step of the way."

Mr Bryant said the process of charter renewal and agreeing the BBC's financial settlement must be "open and transparent", adding licence fee payers must be consulted.

Addressing Mr Whittingdale, the Labour frontbencher said: "I'm sure you're going to agree this is no way to run a whelk stall let alone the world's most respected broadcaster."

He said the BBC must join all public bodies in making savings during straitened times, adding: "But the BBC is the cornerstone of the creative industries in this country and viewers and listeners want a strong BBC making programmes that inform, educate and entertain."

Ben Bradshaw, Labour's former culture secretary, also accused the Government of attempting to make the BBC a "branch office" of the Department for Work and Pensions.

He said: "This Government has already forced the licence fee payer to fund broadband roll-out, the failed vanity project of local TV and now it's making the BBC a branch office of the Department for Work and Pensions."

He added the proposal was a "significant assault" on the BBC's independence.