Age UK charity chief slams BBC over plan to scrap free TV licences for OAPs and brands it ‘slow-motion car crash’
- Age UK warns changes to TV licences for elderly is a ‘slow-motion car crash’
- BBC have changed rules so only over-75s on pension credit get free TV
- Calls made for Boris Johnson to stick by Conservative pledge for free licences for elderly
The BBC’s plot to charge over-75s for TV licences is a ‘slow-motion car crash,’ a charity has warned.
Age UK said many pensioners, including those who find it difficult to dress, bathe and get out of bed, will struggle with the procedure of paying for a licence – or even proving they are eligible for a free one.
Only over-75s who receive pension credit will continue to get a free licence from next June.
Age UK said many pensioners, including those who find it difficult to dress, bathe and get out of bed, will struggle with the procedure of paying for a licence – or even proving they are eligible for a free one
Charity director Caroline Abrahams said: ‘The idea that more than a million over-75s who are coping with serious health and care challenges will be able to comply with a new TV licence process, having never done so before, is cloud cuckoo land.’
The BBC’s director of policy, Clare Sumner, has said the corporation will carry out home visits to over-75s to help with the process.
But Miss Abrahams criticised the idea, saying: ‘A slow-motion car crash is a foregone conclusion if the BBC is allowed to carry on with its means-testing plan.’
She called on Boris Johnson to ‘abide by the last Conservative manifesto and continue to fund a free licence for our over-75s’.
Age UK said 20 per cent of over-75s have trouble dressing, 16 per cent bathing or showering, while 9 per cent struggle to get in and out of bed.
Charity director Caroline Abrahams said: ‘The idea that more than a million over-75s who are coping with serious health and care challenges will be able to comply with a new TV licence process, having never done so before, is cloud cuckoo land’