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Free TV licences for over-75s are not fair to the young, says BBC boss

Lord Hall said there are 'no easy choices and no straightforward options' - PA
Lord Hall said there are 'no easy choices and no straightforward options' - PA

Giving free television licences to the over-75s is unfair to the young, the BBC director-general has said, as he warned that the corporation cannot afford to fund the scheme.

Lord Hall of Birkenhead said the BBC will be “worse for everybody” if the concession continues in its current form, because the only way to meet the £745 million annual cost will be to raid the budget for programmes and services.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Hall asked if it was fair for over-75s to receive a free licence, regardless of their wealth, when younger generations also struggle to pay the bills.

The scheme has been funded by the Government since it was introduced in 2000, but during the last charter negotiation the BBC was required to take on the financial burden from June 2020.

“While the world has changed since the turn of the century, with the incomes, wealth and life expectancy of older people improving significantly, we have to recognise that there are older people in real poverty and real need,” Lord Hall said.

“At the same time, younger people have been some of the hardest hit in the wake of the financial crisis. That raises important issues of fairness between the generations.

“There is also the question of fairness for everyone - regardless of age. If the BBC introduces a new concession, there will be less money to make programmes and deliver services - in effect, making the BBC worse for everybody.”

Tom Hardy on CBeebies - Credit: BBC
Children's channel CBeebies could be subject to cuts if the BBC has to continue funding the £745m scheme Credit: BBC

The BBC yesterday launched a public consultation on the future of the over-75s scheme.

While maintaining the status quo remains an option, Lord Hall said it would have serious implications for BBC output.

The £745 million cost - estimated to reach £1 billion by 2030 - is equivalent to one-fifth of the corporation’s entire budget, or the combined spend on BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, the BBC News Channel, CBBC and CBeebies.

“There are no easy choices, and no straightforward options,” Lord Hall said.

Four other options are under consideration: scrapping the free licences altogether, discounting them by 50 per cent, raising the threshold from 75 to 80, or means-testing the payment by linking it to pension credit.

“These are all options and, in the end, they could be combined or developed in different ways,” the director-general said.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks until February 12, to allow “time for debate and considered views”. A colour television licence currently costs £150.50.

Lord Hall said: “This will not be a decision made in a back room. All options have merits and drawbacks, and the challenge is how best to balance fairness for pensioners with fairness for everyone.”

Overhauling the scheme will be controversial. Caroline Abraham, director of Age UK, said the options would “create unfairness for different groups of older people”.

She said: “There are two million people aged 75-plus, one in two of whom is disabled and one in four of whom view the television as their main form of companionship. For many others, including those who are chronically lonely… the TV is a precious window on the world.

“The BBC took on responsibility for the concession as part of a broader deal with the government in which they received some significant benefits. Now it is their responsibility to appreciate the very significant role that television plays in many older people’s lives and the damaging consequences of watering the concession down or removing it from them.”

Tom Watson, the shadow media secretary, called on the government to “step in and save TV licences for the elderly”. Offloading the scheme into the BBC has “privatised welfare policy”, he said.

A spokesman for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “The BBC will take on responsibility for free licences for the over-75s from 2020 and it is right that they’ve confirmed no decisions will be taken until the public have been fully consulted. We’ve been clear that we would want and expect them to continue with this important concession.

“Ultimately it is the BBC’s responsibility to ensure its substantial licence fee income is used effectively to deliver fully for UK audiences.”