The Lib Dems are supporting an amendment to the Deregulation Bill which would see non-payment of the BBC TV Licence decriminalised and treated as a civil matter instead. During Lib Dem research into the matter, they were shocked at the extent that the BBC is using the state and taxpayers’ money to enforce their income stream. In 2012, for example over 180,000 cases were bought in front of Magistrates for non-payment of the licence fee – making up one in nine of their cases. In that same year, 51 people were imprisoned for failing to pay a TV Licence, up from 48 the previous year. For 20 years the Magistrates Association has been calling for the change the Lib Dems proposing, as they believe compliance could be improved without recourse to court. The BBC is it seems unwilling to consider this. A Magistrate who supports the Lib Dem amendment, and who has reported: “As part of our training, JP’s attend a special briefing by TV licensing and, in my briefing, we were told that TV Licensing has almost as much power as HM Revenue and Customs in terms of what they can do. The next couple of weeks the Lib Dems will be trying to convince even more colleagues to sign this amendment – and the Government that it should be accepted into the Deregulation Bill. Decriminalisation of the non-payment of the television licence fee will be a huge catalyst for change and how the BBC responds and evolves to this will decide this once great institution’s future.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 10:55:29 +0000
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