The BBC has announced that the TV licence concession for over-75s will be linked to Pension Credit.
This is a crucial campaign by local MP Stephen Morgan who is concerned that thousands of pensioners in Portsmouth will directly lose out as of next year.
Research from the House of Commons Library found that 3,037,950 households will lose their free TV licence as a result of linking the concession to Pension Credit. It is estimated that 1.3 million poorer over-75s are eligible for Pension Credit but do not claim the benefit.
Those in this situation will lose their free TV licences under a means tested system. It is also estimated that over 1.6 million pensioners living alone will lose their free licence in a means tested system.
Mr Morgan so far has written to 10,000 households likely to be affected by these changes, met with the senior members of Age UK to discuss the policy’s implications, asked questions in Parliament, met with Portsmouth Pensioners Association, written to the Minister responsible and gathered vital data from constituents on their key concerns.
Responding after speaking up and raising concerns with the Government in the House of Commons today, the Portsmouth South MP said:
“This is another ruthless welfare cut for the most vulnerable in our city.
It’s appalling that this Tory Government is trying to offload responsibility for funding free TV licences onto the BBC.
The Government must do the honourable thing for Portsmouth pensioners and stand by its manifesto commitment they made at the last general election.
I will continue to call on the Secretary of State to admit this is a broken promise and request that the TV licence remains free for over-75s.”
Following the conclusion of the BBC’s TV Licence consultation, Tom Watson MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Shadow Culture Secretary, added:
“It is an outrage that this Government is overseeing the scrapping of free TV licences for 3 million older people, leaving a Tory manifesto promise in tatters.
In the same week that Boris Johnson has championed tax cuts for the rich, this Conservative Government has delivered yet another ruthless welfare cut to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
I challenge all Tory leadership candidates to honour the commitment they made in 2017. You cannot means test for social isolation. You cannot means test for loneliness. Millions of elderly and isolated people will lose because of this announcement – Labour will fight it with everything we’ve got.”
Last month Labour passed unopposed an opposition day motion that stated that any changes to the existing TV licence concession must be subject to Parliamentary consent. Labour will push to have that motion upheld.
