TV Licence article Discussion

Zapito

enfield_freddy wrote: »

perhaps that debate should start now ?

It has. There is a public consultation on that very subject taking place right now. You can have your say via BBC here: https://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/bbc/tomorrows-bbc

and/or direct to HMG here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bbc-charter-review-public-consultation

These are public consultations, which means they are open to anyone, eg YOU!

NB: You don't have to be a licence fee payer in order to participate.

Zapito

Cornucopia wrote: »

But how would you go about enforcing it?

Since the exceptions are so tiny, I would assume everyone to be liable and let those very few make a case for exemption. That case should be easy to make but there needs to be a massive financial penalty for anyone caught using the procedure to cheat.

Cornucopia wrote: »

You do realise just how secretive and unaccountable the BBC is?

If that is your opinion then you are free to use the political system to remedy the situation. You could start by participating in the current public consultations (links in a previous posting).

Zapito

Cornucopia wrote: »

I'm a Libertarian, and I will always object to any element of Government that appears to be unnecessary, overly authoritarian or badly run. The BBC, IMHO, is 3 for 3 on those criteria.

In my opinion, the ultimate consequence of libertarianism can only be concentration of capital and power in a very few hands, ie complete loss of liberty for the vast majority.

But that's a whole different subject. What the BBC funding requires is sensible compromise.

Zapito

enfield_freddy wrote: »

there has NEVER been a case submitted to a british court that relied on detector van information

I doubt they are much use anyway now, with all the various ways in which broadcasting can now be received.

enfield_freddy

the detector vans were sent to scare people , one detector van roaming around a housing estate used to get 50 renewals at a post office the following day


kidology in its finest form

Niv

Simple solution - add £10 per month to council tax and then get rid of the licence fee. Use the money raised via the £10 on CT to fund BBC as the licence used to. Don't stipulate that's what its for, just say BBC is now funded via local government contributions or some such rubbish.

cw18

Which penalises those of us who don't watch anything that requires a TV licence.

Niv

cw18 wrote: »

Which penalises those of us who don't watch anything that requires a TV licence.

Some winners, some losers, lots of moaners - no change there then. Also as others have said the law needs amendment anyhow to take into account how technology has changed i.e. simply change the law to include on demand services including Netflix type services.

cw18

I don't personally think Netflix / Wuaki etc should require a licence - they're basically DVD rental services, the only difference being you don't have to drive miles to a shop to rent one and there's no risk of returning it late and facing a fine.

Having to find that extra £120-£150 a year would make a huuuuge difference to some of us who are only just balancing the books at the moment, so I think it's totally wrong to make it a household levy.

Zapito

Niv wrote: »

Simple solution - add £10 per month to council tax and then get rid of the licence fee. Use the money raised via the £10 on CT to fund BBC as the licence used to. Don't stipulate that's what its for, just say BBC is now funded via local government contributions or some such rubbish.

IE a "househld tax" as some have already proposed. Except it would need to be around £12.50 per month.