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In the people (50% off). Requirements According to the definition of TV receiving apparatus, a licence must be obtained for any device which is "installed or used" for receiving television programme services[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20040692.htm#9 . This covers televisions, VCRs, set-top boxes and other similar devices such as a tuner card in a PC. A television installed and used solely for some other purpose, such as a closed-circuit monitor, video player or a games console does not usually require a licence. It is unclear whether playing video recorded from a broadcast would be treated as receiving a broadcast, albeit indirectly however the law defines television service as a "programme .. received at the same time (or virtually the same time) as it is received by members of the public by virtue of its being broadcast or distributed as part of that service".[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20040692.htm#9 TV broadcasts over the internet are also a grey area, according to OFCOM which in future might make fees based on television ownership redundant. A green paper from the Department for Culture, Media and Sports included suggestions of “either a compulsory levy on all households or even on ownership of PCs as well as TVs”[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1508650,00.html . TV Licensing have stated that any device (such as mobile phones) receiving broadcasts at the same time as they appear on TV require a licence.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4708170.stm] Only one licence is required per household, regardless of the number of licenced devices. However in shared accommodation licences may be required on a per-tenant basis, depending on the tenancy agreement {Link without Title} Licence fee expenditure The BBC gives the following figures for expenditure of licence fee income:
Licence fee collection and enforcement Collection and enforcement of the licence fee in the UK is contracted out to a company called Capita which specialises in Outsourcing for government projects. Despite the prevalence of so-called "detector-vans" in TVL Advertising and Literature , the main method of detecting evaders is an address-based Database system called "LASSY". This is basically a list of all addresses in the UK - letters and agents from Capita are sent to any address not listed as a paying customer. No evidence from any kind of "detection equipment" has been used by Capita in any UK court case to date - some speculate that it would be inadmissable because information about how such equipment works is not known (unlike for example Gatso speed cameras). Capita agents (sometimes referred to as "enforcement officers" or "enquiry officers") have the same rights as any other member of the public when conducting door-to-door enquiries. Like a postman, they have assumed right of access to knock on doors (unless this right is specifically denied beforehand), but they must leave if asked to and have no right of Forced Entry without a Search Warrant . They may apply to a judge for a Search Warrant , but the judge will require evidence before granting one. There are fines of up to £1,000 for those prosecuted for not having a licence. BBC figures {Link without Title} indicate that the evasion rate in the UK is approximately 5%. Payment methods The licence fee can be paid annually, monthly or quarterly by Direct Debit, or monthly or weekly with the Monthly Cash Plan or Cash Easy Entry cards, which were introduced in the mid 1990s for those with limited means or no bank account. Criticism Criticisms concerning the UK TV licence include cost, value for money, whether or not the BBC should be publically funded, and licence collection methods. With the BBC's increased worldwide output (including its online services) some have started advocating the abolition of the TV licence, claiming it is a violation of the freedom to receive information without interference, and so possibly illegal in the way it is applied in the UK, as a contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950. The licence system advocates point out, however, that all European countries have similar licence systems, so they would all be contravening the convention, in that case. The licence fee comes under particular criticism from '' The Times '' and '' The Sun '' newspapers, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation which also has a large share of British Sky Broadcasting , one of the BBC's main commercial rivals. The radio broadcasters James Whale and Charlie Wolf are also famous opponents of the TV licence. However, supporters of the licence fee claim that it helps maintain a higher quality of programming on the BBC compared to its commercial rivals. Some claim that it also leads to better programmes on the commercial channels, as they seek to draw viewers/listeners away from the BBC's output. Also, in general, the commercial television companies favour the licence fee, since it means the BBC will not compete with them for advertising or subscriptions. Arguments against a licence fee cite it as a regressive tax, as it proportionally costs as poor person more than a rich person. However, the defenders of the system point out that the same is true of water charges, petrol tax, vehicle tax, VAT and many other taxes and charges. Some regard it an anomality that a person can be forced to pay the licence fee while not using the services it pays for. However, the licence is for owning a receiver, regardless of which channels you watch, and the defenders of the licence fee argue that car taxes and other road charges, like the London congestion charge, are similarly used to fund public transport, although the payers of the taxes nd charges may not use public transport. Some critics regard it an ethical issue that blind people have to pay 50% of the TV licence, while supporters argue that this is a very fair rebate for those blind people who actually have a TV and thus obviously make use of it, especially as the BBC now is spending substantial amount of money to provide this small group of people with Audio Description . Some critics regard it unfair that a single-person household has to pay the same TV licence as a multi-person household, but the defenders of the system point out that the same is true of water charges, and that a charge per individual would be extremely complicated to implement, as the number of members in a household can change very often, with babies being born, teenagers moving out, divorces and deaths. Some critics point out that viewers in the Republic Of Ireland also pick up terrestrial signals of the BBC, but do not pay a licence fee to watch BBC programmes. The counter-argument from the defenders of the system is that the same is true in reverse of viewers in Northern Ireland and parts of Wales , and also of viewers in the Channel Islands , who can watch French TV without paying French TV licence. In the Charter Renewal debate in 2004, a poll by the BBC's current affairs programme 'Panorama' showed that 31% were in favour of the existing licence fee system, 36% said the BBC should be paid for by a subscription, and 31% wanted advertising to pay for the programmes. (Source ICM/Panorama .) Notes The Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 {Link without Title} gives the following definition:
The Monthly Cash Plan works on the same basis as the Cash Easy Entry scheme and has been designed so as not to discriminate against those that don't receive benefits. Further details can be found on {Link without Title} EXTERNAL LINKS
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