we are not helping ourselves if we want free TV licences

As regards TV licences, I think it's a difficult one. I do believe in the BBC as an independent broadcaster, and it has to get money from somewhere. If it is to remain independent the money can't come from the government or advertisers, so I can't think of where it can get it from other than viewers.

In general, I am not a fan of concessions being based purely on age. TV is good entertainment for anyone on a low income, whether that is a young family or an older person, and it seems cruel to deny it to any of them, but as with all means-testing there is no reason why someone with a slightly higher income should have to pay and end up worse off. I don't know. Is there a way of funding it that would be more equitable? I can see the point that younger people often have more opportunity to get out and do other things than someone older and infirm; but that's not always the case, if they live in a dangerous area or have young children to look after.

I think the TV licence is very good value, but that's cold comfort if you just don't have the money.

Mollygo

Of course, people who got their pension 6-7 years earlier should have known they ought to have saved up, so the interest on their savings would match the new pension amounts. .

Eh? Who is saying that? What does it even mean? People will save up (if they can) so that they have spare money, not so they can 'match' someone else's pension.

Allira I only mention the fact that some on the old pension get more than anyone on the new when someone suggests that everyone on the new pension gets so much more. I could just as well say that that is 'not helpful' to those who had to wait an extra six years, but it would be just as pointless.

Of course.

And realised they might become suddenly ill and have to take early retirement therefore their pension would be reduced.

Funny how those crystal balls aren't always reliable.

Of course, people who got their pension 6-7 years earlier should have known they ought to have saved up, so the interest on their savings would match the new pension amounts. .

many

some as *worriedwell said.

It's not forgotten, you have pointed it out many (not some) times. That is not in the least bit helpful for those of us who receive just or less than the basic old state pension.

theworriedwell

mabon1

Yes indeed the Pension will increase in April, it will be swollowed by increasing water rates, council tax and heating bills. Millions of us have been born too early to receive the full rise anyway.

Some of us get more because we were born earlier. I get more than the new pension

Thanks for pointing this out, as it is so often forgotten on here. People on the old pension, many of whom do get more, also got their pension six or seven years before those on the new one, too.

We are pensioners and both happy to pay for a license it is actually good value for money for the channels you get. I'm happy for those in straightened circumstances to get a free one or over 75's if they live in their own. There are many younger people with children on a low income , who could probably use a free license.

To be clear. The licence isn’t only payable for the BBC.

The TV Licence is for live TV viewing whoever the provider is. So even if you never watch BBC live but watch (say) ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Amazon, Netflix etc live you still need a licence.

You also need a licence to stream on-demand content from BBC iPlayer.

In other words, the only people who don’t need to buy a licence are those who only ever watch on-demand (not live) content from commercial broadcasters.

www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one#:~:text=You%20need%20to%20be%20covered%20by%20a%20TV%20Licence%20to,by%20your%20home%20TV%20Licence.

This is something I don't mind paying for. Can get worked up about it. I think that is why the petition has had a poor response.

Usedtobeblonde

I really don’t have a problem with paying a TV licence.
I pay monthly by DD and it costs £15 a month.
I have 100’s of channels and apps to use for this cost.
If I went to the cinema, which is hardly ever, it would cost much more than that each visit taking in transport or parking.
I shall willingly subsidise those on low income and disabled.

The licence is only payable for the BBC as all other channels are commercial. We also pay just under £15. a month and for a brief period we were granted a free licence due to our age. However, this stopped and at 84 we still pay the full licence. Not even a discount.

mabon1

Yes indeed the Pension will increase in April, it will be swollowed by increasing water rates, council tax and heating bills. Millions of us have been born too early to receive the full rise anyway.

Some of us get more because we were born earlier. I get more than the new pension

SMEM

Silverbrooks:
Further to your comment on people who are on Pension Credit get their TV licence for free, that is not true, you have to apply via a form they send out to you and you have to prove that you actually receive it !!

Yes, of course you have to apply for it. The BBC doesn't know who receives Pension Credit. But if you are 75 or over and receive Pension Credit (or live with a partner who receives Pension Credit) you will get a free licence.

www.gov.uk/free-discount-tv-licence#:~:text=If%20you%27re%2075%20or,get%20a%20discounted%20TV%20licence.

Well I m not very well off just over the pension credit line but I don’t mind paying once a year for the TV ….of course I d prefer not to but it’s not something I can get in a tizz about
It is what it is (I find myself saying this often now)

I think any of these type benefits should be means tested. I have an ex colleague on FB who often rants about losing her winter fuel allowance and free TV license but she posts photos of her monthly holiday to exotic warm climates, every weekend all her restaurant dinners, her weekly nails done in a salon, she is clearly NOT on the breadline, if she can afford all that, then she does not need fuel allowance and TV license for free, money for the needy NOT greedy!

Yes indeed the Pension will increase in April, it will be swollowed by increasing water rates, council tax and heating bills. Millions of us have been born too early to receive the full rise anyway.

Silverbrooks:
Further to your comment on people who are on Pension Credit get their TV licence for free, that is not true, you have to apply via a form they send out to you and you have to prove that you actually receive it !!

Personally I consider the licence fee good value and don't mind paying it. I realise many people are struggling but I'm getting fed up of petitions asking for things that the government clearly can't afford. In particular the one suggesting that the tax allowance should be increased to £20,000! I want to see the freeze on the tax allowance removed but £20,000 is completely unaffordable! Whoever thought that one up is living on a different planet from the rest of us.

The BBC is a statutory public corporation not a public company. Only the latter is required to have an AGM.

ITV is a public company listed in the stock exchange so holds an AGM.

The TV licence fee is not a tax. It is a charge to use a service just as we pay to use the services of other public corporations: British Rail, the Post Office and so on. Universities are public corporations. Students pay to study there.

Like any public or private body, the BBC had to balance its books, balance its income against its outgoings. The BBC is facing a huge reduction in its income as fewer people buy a licence so is having to change the way services are provided.

The changes are described here:

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/listening-outside-the-uk/outside-uk-changes

If you live outside the UK, how you listen to BBC radio will change, starting from spring 2025.

Instead of using BBC Sounds, you’ll be able to use a new service at BBC.com and on the BBC app. BBC Studios has launched these all-new audio environments, tailored to outside UK audiences.The BBC’s content will remain available on other international podcast platforms.

International listeners will no longer be able to use the BBC Sounds app and website from spring 2025.

You can find out more about these changes on the bbc.com website.

Advice for UK Listeners travelling abroad

For listeners who reside in the UK, you will still be able to use the BBC Sounds mobile app when you are abroad.

AGE should not be the issue but NEED . There are so many families with a limited income who are not eligible. I fully accept that there are pensioners on limited incomes but I have never met any. What does not help pensioners who have signed this petition is the fact there are lots of retired folks sitting inside and outside coffee shops - the cost per cup higher than a week's worth of TV licence.

I would be lost without the BBC and will always be happy to pay for my licence. We all have different tastes but the Beeb offers a much greater variety of programmes than any other provider and is without ads. The cost is very low for all the hours of pleasure I get. In the day usually Radio 4 or 3 and in the evenings so much TV choice. I do have Netfllix but rarely watch it. I like drama but cannot cope with too much violence. I never watch soaps or reality shows but there is plenty of other programmes on offer, no other provider gives the depth of choice, particularly in its radio stations.

Same here UTBB.

I really don’t have a problem with paying a TV licence.
I pay monthly by DD and it costs £15 a month.
I have 100’s of channels and apps to use for this cost.
If I went to the cinema, which is hardly ever, it would cost much more than that each visit taking in transport or parking.
I shall willingly subsidise those on low income and disabled.

Marg75

Because we're on a fixed income with no prospect of earning anymore, or at least I am at eighty!

Surely your state pension goes up each April. Many people in work are even more tightly limited in income than many olde rpeople, especially if they have children.

Sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander.

When around 3 million of the 13 million (not 10 million) State Pensioners are either already paying or on the cusp of paying higher rate tax i.e they have an income in excess of £50,250 a year, then why do they need a free licence?

Those age 75 or over who receive Pension Credit already receive a free licence so the poorest are helped.

You don't even need a licence depending on how you watch TV so the cost can be avoided.

Just because a few MPs will have a friendly debate in Westminster about the licence if the petition achieves 100,000 signatures doesn't mean anything will happen. It's not a Commons debate and has no legislative power to change things.