Fleur has written to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport asking for free TV licences for the over 75s to be continued.

Full Text:

Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
100 Parliament Street London
SW1A 2BQ

2nd March 2020

Dear Secretary of State,

Free TV Licenses for Over 75s

On behalf of my constituents, I’m writing to ask you to continue providing free TV licenses for the over 75 population.

The new scheme will allow only those over 75 who receive Pension Credit to obtain a free license, paid by the BBC. This change will leave up to 3.7 million older people without TV licenses. Public broadcasters should not be responsible for creating social policy, and the government ultimately must accept the responsibility for caring for our elderly population. Licenses of this sort should be guaranteed as a universal benefit, and the cost of doing so should be shouldered by the government.

Television broadcasting brings an enormous amount of joy to the lives of those who have retired. Providing this service allowed an expensive good to be utilized by those who have already worked hard and paid their dues to this country. Television helps to mitigate feelings of solidarity or isolation, and many in my constituency have written to me to express their concern over the loss of this service.

I ask you then to raise this issue once again within your government to push for funding for free TV licenses for the over-75s, and to do so with urgency, before the rollover date of 1st June.

Yours sincerely,

Fleur Anderson