‘They have to come up with another model’: For many the BBC licence fee increase is a bad joke | Ents & Arts News

For many who’re on modest means, the price of the licence charge going up by £5 on 1 April of all days is a little bit of a foul joke.

Actually, for residents at St Crispin Retirement Village, it is arduous to see the humorous facet.

Amongst them is 83-year-old Stan Fritton who, since final November, has been embroiled in a battle over how a lot he and his neighbours must be paying for the BBC.

Their lodging coming below one roof, they beforehand paid £7.50 every, qualifying for an lodging for residential care (ARC) licence.

They then turned a former storage room into one among two areas for guests to remain the night time and have been informed by publish they’d contravened the TV Licensing Act.

Letters demanding residents pay full worth began turning up addressed to virtually 100 of the residents.

As Mr Fritton places it they have been “being despatched to 95-year-old widows [who are] seeing one thing that claims investigation with an enormous stamp and what have you ever… it is frightened them to loss of life.”

He says calls for for funds have even been despatched to these with dementia.

“They are not listening and so they’re selecting to not hear,” he says of interactions with TV Licensing.

Whereas Mr Fritton says the retirement village’s managers have now shut the room and can be reapplying to get the licence again, he’s adamant they have not damaged any guidelines however cannot get an officer to return out to see that the room is not a dwelling.

Resignedly his primary frustration is that: “They’re selecting to antagonise residents right here needlessly.”

In a press release, a spokesperson for TV Licensing mentioned they “proceed to liaise with the managers of St Crispin’s… and hope to have this matter resolved as quickly as attainable.”

Value rises to £174.50

How the BBC collects its cash is a matter that extends manner past one retirement village.

Below the present BBC constitution, costs will now rise for the subsequent two years based mostly on inflation. It was £169.50, from at this time it’s now £174.50.

After all, possibly that is OK if we’re getting extra of what the BBC does greatest however the company’s revenue is down £1bn a yr in actual phrases in comparison with its funding in 2010.

Wolf Corridor director Peter Kosminsky not too long ago gave a written assertion to parliament on how the second collection of his acclaimed drama was very almost canned as a result of the financing in public service broadcasting is “inadequate to make high-end TV drama”.

‘I feel we’re in actual bother’

However it’s even a troublesome time for these public sector broadcasters who depend on promoting – the producer of Mr Bates vs The Submit Workplace, Patrick Spence, telling Sky Information he would not even pitch the drama now within the present commissioning local weather.

“I do wish to say I feel we have to pay the sub postmasters first earlier than we then flip our consideration to tv – let’s get our priorities proper – however yeah I feel we’re in actual bother – there’s a type of British tv story telling that’s happening if it’s not supported.”

Whereas some reviews have claimed the federal government is seeking to discover a technique to put a levy on streaming companies, the Division for Tradition has beforehand mentioned they “don’t touch upon hypothesis” – not ruling it out.

‘Plenty of persons are saying it is a very dated system’

As a former BBC Information controller and authorities communications director, Sir Craig Oliver has seen licence charge negotiations from each side.

He says: “I feel all people has come to the conclusion, together with privately the BBC, that they need to provide you with one other mannequin.

“I feel that there’ll in all probability be some component of the licence charge nonetheless present, however it might be that there are subscription fashions on high of that.

“The issue with all of that, after all, is that the satan is within the element… how do you be sure that individuals aren’t hacking in? Plenty of persons are saying it is a very dated system.”

This yr the BBC says it is launching its “largest ever public engagement train so audiences will help… form [the corporation]”.

A BBC spokesperson mentioned: “The general public cares concerning the BBC… We wish to proceed to reform and evolve and sit up for partaking with authorities on the subsequent Constitution and securing the long-term way forward for the BBC.”

However with seemingly little or no consensus over how that future is likely to be funded, the one sure factor for now’s that it will imply households being switched on to licence charge costs going up this yr, subsequent yr and the one after that.