{"id":19527,"date":"2019-07-11T10:40:39","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T10:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smh.group\/?p=19527"},"modified":"2023-02-15T13:45:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T13:45:31","slug":"implications-from-the-over-75-tv-licence-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/implications-from-the-over-75-tv-licence-row\/","title":{"rendered":"Implications from the over-75 TV licence row"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The BBC\u2019s decision to scrap universal\nfree TV licences for the over-75s is part of the larger debate about our\ngrowing ageing population. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free TV licences for the over-75s were\nintroduced by Gordon Brown in his 2000 Budget. It was a classic\nrabbit-out-the-hat Budget measure, designed to please at a relatively modest\ninitial cost. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wind forward to 2015 and a government\nlooking to ease spending cuts discovered a neat way to deal with the rising\ncost of free TV licences: it passed the problem onto the BBC. In exchange for\ngovernment agreement on a financing deal that provided an index-linked licence\nfee and closed loopholes on catch-up TV, Auntie accepted the poisoned chalice\nof responsibility for the free licence scheme from 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the BBC\u2019s recent announcement has\nbeen met with predictable political outcries, it always looked as if the\nbroadcaster would be forced to drop the universality of the over 75 free\nlicences. As the corporation has pointed out, maintaining the status quo would\ncost \u00a3745m \u2013 a fifth of its total budget.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A look at population numbers casts an interesting light on the problem. National Statistics data and projections show:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n