Failure to pay the TV licence fee will remain a criminal offence for the time being – as the alternative could result in the elderly being hounded by bailiffs. Ministers have postponed a move to decriminalise non-payment amid concerns that replacement punishments would actually be harsher. One option could see the BBC introduce a subscription model which could see the licence fee gone altogether by 2027. The BBC ended free TV licences for most over-75s from 1 August, after a two-month delay due to the pandemic. Speaking this summer, BBC chairman Sir David Clementi said the decision to charge over-75s had ‘not been easy’, but that the broadcaster was under ‘severe financial pressure’.

Source: Daily Mail November 16, 2020 01:33 UTC