Key Facts

• The BBC was established in October 1922.
• In December 1932, the BBC launched its Empire Service broadcasting King George V's first Christmas message.
• Winston Churchill delivered his first radio broadcast as Prime Minister in 1940.
• The combined radio and TV licence fee was introduced in 1946.
• Live Aid was watched by an estimated 400 million viewers globally in 1985.
• BBC’s coverage of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral reached 22.4 million people last year.
• The current annual public funding raised through the licence fee is £3.74 billion.
• A television licence is required to watch or record live broadcasts and on-demand content via iPlayer.
• The licence fee funding model will be maintained until 2027.
• S4C receives significant funding from the licence fee.
• Approximately two thirds of UK households subscribe to a subscription-video-on-demand service as of Q1 2023.
• About 74% of households connect their TV sets to the internet.
• Responsibility for the over-75s concession now rests with the BBC.
• In 2015, the Government and the BBC agreed on phasing in the transfer over two years.
• The BBC chose to restrict the concession to those receiving pension credit.
• No enforcement action has been taken against over-75s for not having a TV licence.
• A review of decriminalisation conducted by Mr Perry was firmly against it.
• Over 150,000 responses were received during a consultation on decriminalisation in February 2020.
• The number of TV licences held has declined by 1.9 million since 2017-18.
• Estimated TV licence evasion stands at about 10.3%, its highest level since 1995.
• The BBC future funding review was established to examine options for alternative means of funding the BBC.
• The BBC charter set in 2017 includes a mid-term review of impartiality.
• Nick Serota conducted an internal BBC review on strengthening impartiality requirements.
• The government will publish the outcome of the mid-term review soon.
• Subscription services are viable for internet-delivered television but not yet for Freeview.
• For over-75s, free TV licences were restricted to those in receipt of pension credit from 2020 onwards, costing £250 million annually.
• The enforcement regime allows courts discretion to ensure fines are affordable for individuals under the current system.
• Decriminalisation could result in a fixed fine rate without considering affordability and would remove protections such as no criminal record or impact on credit score.
• The debate will be adjourned and resumed on Friday 27 October.