Currently, households with people over 75 are entitled to a free TV licence but this could all change when the government funded scheme comes to an end in 2020.
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Labour warns that the government will “not get away with devolving the blame” for cuts of TV licences to the BBC.
Currently, households with people over 75 are entitled to a free TV licence but this could all change when the government funded scheme comes to an end in 2020.
Labour are pressing the government to guarantee that no-one over 75 and living alone will lose their free TV licence.
Shadow culture minister Steve Reed warned that more than two million over-75s live alone and the Campaign to End Loneliness reports that four in ten of them say television is their main source of company.
Speaking in the Commons, Labour MP Nick Smith said: “Maintaining free TV licences for over-75s until 2022 was a Tory manifesto promise, but the Government had already outsourced that responsibility to the BBC.
“So why did the Government make a promise that it knew it couldn’t keep?”
Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright replied that “We expect the BBC to honour that commitment but we made it clear that we expected the BBC to take on responsibility for this concession.”
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HeadlineLabour warning over TV licence cuts
Short HeadlineLabour warning over TV licence cuts
StandfirstThe shadow culture secretary warns of impact that TV licence cuts could have for the over 75s.
Labour warns that the government will “not get away with devolving the blame” for cuts of TV licences to the BBC.
Currently, households with people over 75 are entitled to a free TV licence but this could all change when the government funded scheme comes to an end in 2020.
Labour are pressing the government to guarantee that no-one over 75 and living alone will lose their free TV licence.
Shadow culture minister Steve Reed warned that more than two million over-75s live alone and the Campaign to End Loneliness reports that four in ten of them say television is their main source of company.
Speaking in the Commons, Labour MP Nick Smith said: “Maintaining free TV licences for over-75s until 2022 was a Tory manifesto promise, but the Government had already outsourced that responsibility to the BBC.
“So why did the Government make a promise that it knew it couldn’t keep?”
Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright replied that “We expect the BBC to honour that commitment but we made it clear that we expected the BBC to take on responsibility for this concession.”
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