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Age-Related Tv Licence Policy in the Crown Dependencies

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Age-Related Tv Licence Policy in the Crown Dependencies AGE-RELATED TV LICENCE POLICY IN THE CROWN DEPENDENCIES Summary of consultation responses Contents 1. Purpose ....................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 3. Consultation responses ............................................................................................................... 4 4. Bailiwick of Guernsey .................................................................................................................. 5 5. Bailiwick of Jersey ....................................................................................................................... 8 6. Isle of Man ................................................................................................................................ 12 7. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 15 2 1. Purpose The BBC held a consultation between 30 July and 10 September 2020 to seek feedback on proposals for age-related licence fee policies in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Bailiwick of Jersey and the Isle of Man (the Crown Dependencies). This document summarises the responses the BBC received. 2. Introduction In 2015 the UK Government took the decision to stop funding free licences for over 75s and in 2017 the UK Parliament – through legislation – gave the responsibility to the BBC Board to make the decision on the future of the concession in the UK. Following a public consultation, the BBC Board decided that, from 1 August 2020, any UK household with someone aged over 75 in receipt of Pension Credit is entitled to a free TV licence paid for by the BBC. This is the fairest option to help the poorest older pensioners. It is also the fairest option for all licence fee payers as this means everyone will continue to receive the best programmes and services that the BBC can provide. At the request of each Government, the BBC’s responsibility to determine a concession for older people was extended to the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and to the Isle of Man. The BBC was required to consult, before deciding what age-related concession, if any, should be in place, funded by the BBC. Each of the Crown Dependencies’ Governments, however, retains its local powers to set and fund welfare benefits including for TV licences, so are able to pay for further concessions should they wish. While the Crown Dependencies are separate territories with their own system of government, TV licence rules are broadly equivalent to those in the UK. The consultation documents, published in July 2020, set out the BBC Board’s initial thinking that that it would be fair for the BBC to fund a similar concession for older people in the Crown Dependencies as the UK so that all licence fee payers were treated broadly in the same way. That would mean that the BBC would fund free TV licences for the poorest pensioners aged over 75 in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. To determine who would be eligible for a free TV licence paid for by the BBC, the BBC Board proposed to use existing criteria set by the respective governments wherever possible. This consultation was an opportunity for people to provide the BBC Board with any information they thought the Board should take into account when making a final decision, especially information specific to the territory concerned. 3 To raise awareness of the consultation the BBC contacted more than 200 stakeholders across the Crown Dependencies including political stakeholders, age-related charities; veterans charities; disability organisations and debt advice bodies. The consultation was promoted on BBC Radio Jersey and BBC Radio Guernsey with the BBC’s Controller of Policy conducting interviews on both stations. Local BBC Online also reported the details of the consultation and other local media outlets across the islands were contacted with details at the start and towards the end of the consultation period. In Guernsey, the Government promoted details of the consultation across its social media channels. The consultation was open on the BBC’s website and paper, audio and braille copies of the consultation documents could be requested via a telephone line. The consultation was open from Thursday 30 July to Thursday 10 September 2020. 3. Consultation responses The BBC received 78 consultation responses from across the Crown Dependencies – 63 were from members of the public with a further 15 from stakeholder organisations including the Governments of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. The responses the BBC received are summarised below. As the current arrangements vary between the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey and the Isle of Man, the summaries are organised by each territory. Each of these are set out in the same way, starting with the current provision in each Crown Dependency; the consultation proposal and the BBC Board’s thinking followed by a summary of responses structured as follows: those indicating support for the BBC Board’s thinking; those indicating disagreement with the BBC Board’s thinking; those making alternative suggestions and; other points raised. In these summaries, we reference an approximate level of support to provide a point of comparison using a standard set of quantifiers: • Most • Around half • Just under half • Just over a third • Around a third • Just under a third • Just over a quarter • A small number The BBC does not routinely publish the responses of individual members of the public, however stakeholder responses, where permission has been given, are published alongside this summary. The BBC Board would like to thank all those who engaged with and responded to the consultation. 4 4. Bailiwick of Guernsey Current arrangements: In Guernsey and Alderney a free TV licence is available to residents over pensionable age (currently 65 years and 2 months) in receipt of income support, and to all those who turned 75 before 1 September 2016.1 The BBC’s power to set age-related concessions for TV licences was extended to the Bailiwick of Guernsey earlier in 2020. Before making this decision the BBC was required to consult. The States of Guernsey retain local powers to set and fund welfare benefits, including for TV licences, so are able to pay for further concessions should they wish. Consultation proposal: The BBC Board’s initial thinking, as set out in the consultation document, was that it would be fair for the BBC to fund a similar concession for older people in Guernsey as the UK so that all licence fee payers are treated broadly in the same way. The BBC Board believed that this would be the fairest option – helping the poorest pensioners and protecting those most in need. The Board also believed that this would be the fairest option for all licence fee payers by minimising the impact on services. In determining its initial thinking for Guernsey and the other Crown Dependencies, the BBC Board considered it helpful and appropriate to apply the three criteria used in its decision in the UK: fairness, financial impact and feasibility. The Board recognised that while the Bailiwick has its own system of government and circumstances, by convention, the aim is that residents are treated with parity to those in the UK in respect of TV licence rules and BBC provision. That would mean that the BBC would fund free TV licences for the poorest pensioners aged over 75 in Guernsey and Alderney. Consistent with the UK decision, the BBC did not think it should set welfare policy or determine thresholds of poverty. Rather the Board proposed to use welfare criteria already set by the States of Guernsey to assess eligibility so the BBC would fund a free licence for the sole or main residence of any household where someone is over the age of 75 and in receipt of income support. The BBC Board’s initial thinking was that such a scheme would not be available to residents in Sark because of the lack of a formal welfare system. Responses: The BBC received 23 responses from members of the public and five responses from stakeholder organisations including Government of Guernsey and the Government of Sark. 1 a free TV licence was available to all over 75s until September 2016 when Guernsey’s government (the States of Guernsey) changed the concession policy 5 Responses supportive of the BBC’s proposal and rationale: Around a half of responses from members of the public were supportive of the BBC Board’s thinking and agreed that the scheme should protect the poorest by helping those that need it the most. Around half of those were also supportive of the principle of parity with the UK and other Crown Dependencies. A small number also expressed concerns about potential cuts to local services should a broader scheme be offered. The BBC received five responses from stakeholder organisations, of which two were fully supportive of the Board’s proposal and reasoning. Two did not express a view on the proposals but commented on broader issues. The submission from the Government of Guernsey agreed with the BBC Board’s thinking, expressing support for the principle of parity with the UK scheme and agreeing that this would ensure fairness in how licence fee payers were treated in the Islands compared with those in the UK. The response stated ‘we have no objection to the BBC Board making a determination that respects
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