DCMS Select Committee Report on funding of free television licences VLV Response

October 11, 2019
News

Responding to the report, Voice of the Listener & Viewer Chairman, Colin Browne, said

‘The VLV believes that it was wrong in principle for the BBC to have been made responsible for funding the licence fee concession for the over 75s as part of a behind closed doors negotiation in 2015.

We strongly welcome the Report’s conclusion that future licence fee negotiations are conducted in a wholly different way. The VLV has long argued for a more open and transparent process and has proposed the establishment of an independent statutory commission, which would consult widely before making recommendations on funding.

The VLV’s clear view has been that the cost of providing free licences for the over 75’s, and the policy behind the concession, should be matters for government and that the BBC should not fund this concession. We therefore welcome the Committee’s conclusion that the Government should set out proposals for how it can support this concession in the future.

We believe that it is wrong in principle for the BBC to be determining the policy, and bearing the cost, of what is essentially a welfare benefit.’

Public Service Broadcasting

Why VLV?

FROM £30 A YEAR

Become a Member

Join The Voice of the Viewer & Listener from £30 per year

Make a Donation

Support The VLV

Thanks for supporting The Voice of the Listener & Viewer

News, Events & More

Newsletter Signup

Sign up here for news about VLV.

Why High Quality Broadcasting Matters

To enrich individuals with knowledge, culture and information about their world, to build more cohesive communities, to engage the people of the UK and the whole globe in a new conversation about who we are and where we are going …put to work to the sole benefit of the public.

"British broadcasting is the best in the world, but now its future is threatened. If you want to help ensure its quality, please join me in supporting VLV which is doing so much to protect the principle of public service in broadcasting."

David Attenborough OM CH

"The Voice of the Listener & Viewer are passionate believers, as I am, in the importance of high quality broadcasting for the cultural and scientific future of this nation. At a time when traditional broadcasters like the BBC are under threat it is more important than ever that organisations like the VLV give voice to those who would otherwise not be heard."

Michael Mosley

"The VLV awards represent everything I care about in PSB: a commitment to quality, diversity and a democratic spirit. That’s what motivates me."

HELEN BOADEN

"VLV fulfils the function of holding ministers and people in Parliament who take an interest in these matters to account. They cover a range of topics of ongoing interest, particularly over the role of PSBs and the BBC, but also how the constant march of technology is throwing up new regulatory challenges which we wouldn’t have thought 3 or 4 years ago would have been a problem."

Damian Collins MPFormer Chairman of the DCMS Select Committee

"We’ve all faced an emergency this past year, our greatest since the Second World War. We’ve relied more than ever on our most popular TV channels both to communicate key, Covid public service messages to mass audiences, and quite properly to scrutinise government performance as well. PSB provides critical social content."

Peter BAZALGETTE

© COPYRIGHT 1998 – 2024 VOICE OF THE LISTENER & VIEWER. REGISTERED CHARITY 1152136

Web site support and maintenance by Faversham Designs