Alan Johnson

Don’t blame the BBC for scrapping free TV licences for over 75s

The BBC is grappling with a dilemma forced upon it by George Osborne when he was chancellor. From 2020 the Corporation will be forced to fund the full £745 million cost of providing a free TV licence to households where one resident is over 75.

One of the most significant achievements of the Blair government was its success in tackling pensioner poverty. When Labour took office in 1997 there were more than two and a half million pensioners living in abject poverty. By 2004, the Institute for Fiscal Studies was reporting that for the first time in recorded history, being old was no longer associated with being poor.

This transformation was largely due to the introduction of Pension Credit, which brings pensioner income up to an adequate level. This was supplemented by the winter fuel allowance, free eye tests and the free TV licence. But what was necessary 20 years ago may be questionable today. And not having the guts to take a decision on this aspect itself, the government transferred it to Auntie. The BBC is consulting on three options to make this concession affordable. The most rational is to confine it to those on Pension Credit, which would almost halve the cost while ensuring help remained for those in need. This decision should be taken by the Corporation, but the flak should be taken by the government that dreamt up this cynical ruse.

This article is an extract from Alan Johnson’s Diary, available in this week’s magazine

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