Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance his Department gives to TV Licensing on how it deals with people who do not own a television.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Within the legislative framework set out by Government, it is for the BBC Executive Board to manage licence fee collection. Under the terms of the 2006 Royal Charter the BBC Trust is required to ensure that the arrangements for the collection of the licence fee by the BBC Executive are efficient, appropriate and proportionate. In order to fulfil this function, the Trust has committed to regularly review the BBC Executive’s licence fee collection strategy, as part of the BBC’s annual report and accounts.

Last year an independent review led by David Perry QC examined the current methods of enforcement, and we are considering the review’s recommendations as part of the ongoing Charter Review.