A fresh petition is urging the UK Government to offer free TV licences to all pensioners. It calls for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to provide all state pensioners born before 1958 with a free TV licence as a gateway benefit, should the Labour Party heed the pressure.
Fuelled by over 4,000 signatures, the petition states: “We want the Government to fund free TV licences for existing pensioners and those who reach the official retirement age. When people reach retirement age, we think they should receive a state-financed free TV licence.”
The campaign highlights the struggles of pensioners who often survive on limited resources and rely on television for companionship, particularly when faced with skyrocketing food costs and escalating utility bills. Advocates are calling for the concession to be universally applied to all pensioners, criticising the current system that exempts only those eligible for means-tested Pension Credit.
It reads, “Many pensioners live on the breadline with only the TV for company. With the cost of food soaring and utility bills ever higher, we feel there is a desperate need to provide all pensioners with at least this concession. We feel it is a double outrage that those who have given their all to this country in taxes and raising children have to pay a TV licence fee and are only exempt if they receive means-tested Pension Credit. Meanwhile, some media figures draw huge salaries.”
The government will respond after 10,000 signatures and consider it for parliamentary debate at 100,000. The yearly cost for a colour TV licence climbed to £169.50 as of 1 April 2024, marking a £10.50 rise from the previous £159 annual charge and undoubtedly intensifying interest in the petition’s aim for better pensioner support, reports Birmingham Live.
If you watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on television in the UK (‘live TV’), you need to be covered by a TV licence. This also applies if you use BBC iPlayer.
The licence fee contributes to public broadcasting by the BBC, enabling it to operate without the disruption of advertisements. It constitutes approximately 71% of the BBC’s income.
The collection and administration of the TV licence is contracted out to TV Licensing by the BBC.