Elderly women and vulnerable groups such as the disabled and dementia sufferers will be the worst hit by BBC’s decision to withdraw free licences for pensioners, figures reveal
- Women are two-and-a-half times more likely than men to be taken to court
- BBC’s own researchers knew elderly women and disabled would be worst hit
- Women are also far more likely to end up in jail over failing to pay £154.50 fee
Vulnerable elderly women will bear the brunt of the BBC’s decision to strip millions of pensioners of free TV licences.
Women are two-and-a-half times more likely than men to be dragged through the courts after failing to pay the £154.50 annual charge, according to 2018 statistics disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act. They are also far more likely to end up in jail.
Last night, licence fee abolition campaigner Caroline Levesque-Bartlett said: ‘There is something deeply wrong with a system that routinely punishes women more than men, despite overwhelming evidence that men commit more crimes.
‘The TV licence is a regressive tax and a deeply sexist one.’
Broadcasting House, the BBC headquarters in London, the broadcaster’s own researchers new the impact it would have on the vulnerable
The BBC’s own research into licence fee reform has revealed the corporation knew that elderly women and other vulnerable groups such as the disabled and dementia sufferers would be the worst hit by its decision.
‘Any decision other than copying the existing concession would affect more women than men, more of those from a BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic] background, and more disabled people and people with long-term health issues like dementia,’ its ‘equality impact assessment’ said.
‘Any decision other than copying the existing concession will also adversely affect more women than men as women tend to live longer.’
The decision to strip free TV licences from the 3.7million over-75s not on pension credit will also ‘have a more significant qualitative effect on women than men because women, especially older women, are more likely to be single, and so be reliant on TV for information and companionship’, the BBC’s research said.
Figures obtained by the Mail show that of the 139,719 people prosecuted for licence fee evasion last year, 100,725 were women. Around 9,300 were found not guilty, meaning they suffered the ordeal needlessly.
The vast majority of convicted evaders got a criminal record and a court fine of up to £1,000. But in 65 cases people were jailed after they failed to pay the fine, spending an average of 19 days each behind bars.
Of those sentences, 40 were for women – more than 60 per cent of the total. By contrast, less than 5 per cent of the general prison population is female, Ministry of Justice figures show.
Some people jailed in Northern Ireland for failing to pay their fine went to prison more than once over the issue.
The BBC’s own research into licence fee reform has revealed the corporation knew that elderly women and other vulnerable groups such as the disabled and dementia sufferers would be the worst hit by its decision (stock image)
Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said: ‘Many older women are missing out on pension credit and are therefore set to lose their free TV licence, despite living on a very low income. A big extra bill on top of the other challenges that many will be facing by this age will be a bitter blow. For many, the possibility of being taken to court for non-payment will be a source of huge anxiety.’
A TV Licensing spokesman said: ‘Individuals cannot be imprisoned for licence fee evasion, only for non-payment of court-ordered fines.
‘The number of women imprisoned in England and Wales in 2018 was four, a 50 per cent reduction from the previous year’s eight women.
‘Prosecutions in England and Wales have fallen by 6 per cent from 138,000 to 129,000 over the same period.’