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Trust review of licence fee collection
About this consultation
Do you think it's clear when a TV licence is needed? Do you know about the different ways of paying for your licence? What's your view on the tone of the marketing and advertising about the need to pay a TV licence? Do you think the methods of enforcement, including letters, visits and detection, are reasonable and appropriate?
These are just some of the questions we're asking in our public consultation, which is open until Friday 28 November 2008.
What does the TV licence pay for?
The licence fee funds all the BBC's UK services on television, radio and online including:
- Nine network TV channels
- 10 network radio stations
- Radio stations in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland
- 40 local radio stations in England
- bbc.co.uk
- BBCi
- BBC iPlayer
For more information about how the BBC uses the licence fee, visit bbc.co.uk/info/channels
Who collects the licence?
Collection of the licence fee is the responsibility of the BBC. If the BBC is not efficient at collecting the licence fee then the range and quality of BBC services may be affected. The BBC has a duty to keep evasion rates as low as possible so that those people who pay are not disadvantaged by those who do not.
Administration of the collection and enforcement of the television licensing system is carried out by TV Licensing, which is a trading name used by the companies contracted by the BBC to do this.
For more information about TV Licensing and who needs a TV licence please go to www.tvlicensing.co.uk
Why run a consultation?
The BBC Trust is the highest authority at the BBC. We are the new, independent governing body representing the interests of licence fee payers. One of our new responsibilities is ensuring that the arrangements for the collection of the licence fee are "efficient, appropriate and proportionate".
In other words, is the BBC doing a good job in ensuring that everyone who is required by law to pay the licence fee knows they have to pay and when; that the arrangements for collecting the fee are efficient and easy to use; and the right balance is struck between encouraging payment and deterring evasion?
As this is a new responsibility we are doing a comprehensive review of all the collection arrangements and we want to hear directly from the public about your experiences when paying your licence fee.
This review is not about whether there should be a licence fee or how much it should be – those are matters for Government and Parliament.
Have your say
Alternatively, you can write to us at:
TV Licence Fee Collection Review
BBC Trust
35 Marylebone High Street
London
W1U 4AA
If you need any more information, please call the Freephone helpline on 08000 680 116 or textphone on 08000 153 350.
What happens next?
The BBC Trust will look at all the information it has gathered as part of the review, this will include responses to this consultation as well as analysis of other data, specially commissioned research and complaints received. The Trust will then decide if any changes to the collection arrangements are needed.
The Trust's final report will be published in spring 2009 and will be available on the Trust website.
Terms of reference
The full terms of reference can be found at: