The UK is busily preparing itself for the forthcoming switchover to digital-only television signals. Originally the licensing authorities deemed that because the digital set-top boxes were inherently colour devices, people with black and white television sets would now require a colour license.
Yes, that’s correct, there are currently two types of license available, along with two types of prices:
Colour (£135.50)
Black and white (£45.50)
As you can see it’s a considerable discount, and so after a deluge of complaints, the qualification criteria have been changed to apply to the final viewing device only, ignoring any equipment installed along the way.
While on one hand this seems like a fairer, more logical solution, the real issue of why these people are being offered such hefty reductions in the first place doesn’t seem to have been addressed at all.
If anyone can explain to me why owning outdated equipment should be rewarded then I would be very grateful. Surely any price differential should be due to the level of service bought from the service supplier, not a choice in how the service is used by the consumer? It’s akin to getting a discount on your heating bill because you left it on while you were out, or money off your electricity bill because you had your eyes closed while the lights were on.
What heightens the ridiculousness is that the license, which is essentially a tax, funds a multitude of things including extra digital services, radio, BBC Online, etc. If there were 66% reductions on other taxable services for similar reasons, then there would rightly be uproar.
The enforced digital age of course means enforced use of higher power-consumption devices on a mass scale, probably undermining all carbon emission initiatives undertaken so far. Energy saving equipment and those without standby modes are probably the only consumer choices in this market that should be rewarded.
NOTE: The tone of this post suggests that television is an essential service on a par with other major utilities. While I don’t personally agree with this, I think it is fair to deem it as such because of the near-blanket usage, a bit like a washing machine.
That’s a possible reason for its introduction (although I’m not sure environmental awareness in the late 60’s was great enough to affect policies in this way), but it doesn’t explain why it still exists or why it survived the recent reworking of the licensing scheme.
Maybe they do have a good reason though. I’ve just emailed them to find out :)
The reply:
Dear Mr Quinn,
Thank you for your email.
TV Licensing are responsible for collecting and administering the licence fee. We do not set the licence fee, this is done by the UK Government and is laid out in law which is approved by Parliament.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for setting the licence fee and you may be able to find useful information about the licence fee amounts on their website at http://www.culture.gov.uk.
I hope that this is helpful and I would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us.
Yours sincerely
TV Licensing
I received a reply today from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport:
Dear Russell,
Thank you for your e-mail of 19 October regarding the cost of TV licence payments. Your e-mail has been passed to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport which has policy responsibility for broadcasting and I have been asked to reply.
It may be useful if I provide some background information in answer to your query. Historically, the discrepancy in the licence fee for colour and black and white televisions arose as colour televisions were originally considered, in the 60’s and early 70’s, as luxury items. It was thought that a higher licence fee was therefore appropriate.
Today, the black and white tv licence operates as a type of informal concession to the licence fee, where people can still have access to television even if they are unwilling to pay, or cannot afford the full licence fee. Currently, less than 1% of people own black and white and the Government sees no reason to alter the difference between the cost of the licence fee for black and white and colour televisions.
I should also point out that the Government believes that the current licence fee settlement is fair and realistic and will allow the BBC to maintain its existing services and fulfil its obligations under the Charter and Agreement.
Central Information and Briefing Unit
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perhaps the B+W discount was introduced to reward everyone who didn’t just scrap their old sets when colour versions came along - which almost constitutes recycling.