The BBC has come under fire for setting aside £140 million to collect TV license fees and chase those who decide not to pay. UNN’s Oliver Down understands that the cost of gathering the current license fee amount of £157.50 will increase by around £38 million this year. This considerable increase is being attributed to the fact that money will now have to be collected from the over75’s.
It is being widely reported that many older viewers are set to refuse to pay the license fee and some are even threatening civil disobedience in protest. These developments come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that his government is planning a major shakeup of the BBC. Prime Minister Johnson this week told MPs this week that Government will soon publish a “roadmap for reform” of the BBC.
Many charities have reacted to the increase in collection costs. Dennis Reed who is the director of Silver Voices has said: “It is a disgrace. Whether it is £100 million or £40 million, that is a lot of money which could be spent providing free licenses for vulnerable over-75s. It is a false economy – fool’s logic. Instead of using it to provide a service to deserving people, they are paying informers to go round harassing them”.
The anti-license campaigner Caroline Levesque-Bartlett has said: “If they have already injected an extra £38milion, there is not a lot to show for it. Their website is regularly down, the letter for the over 75 is not ready and no one seems to ever pick up the phone. The whole thing is so shambolic, it would almost be comical if it wasn’t for the fact that TV licenses are a criminal matter”.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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