On the day the BBC’s consultation on the future of free TV
licences for over-75s ends, Cardiff West MP and Shadows Arts & Heritage
Minister, Kevin Brennan, has slammed the UK Government for breaking their
manifesto promise and has accused them of using stealth methods to try and hit
Welsh pensioners' pockets and cause damage to the BBC.
If free TV licences are scrapped completely it will cost
over-75s in Wales a combined total of £32 million a year, this is despite the
UK Government promising them their free TV license would remain in place until
2022.
The situation has arisen because the UK Government has
outsourced the social policy to the BBC without giving them the financial means
to maintain it. The most likely enforced options for the BBC are to scrap it
completely, give concessions linked to pension credit or raise the qualifying
age.
Mr Brennan says this is a disgraceful way to treat
pensioners and the BBC.
"There is theme running through this Tory Government
where they either kick difficult decisions further down the road or force those
difficult decisions on other people and organisations to make," said Mr
Brennan.
"This is exactly what they have done by outsourcing the
free licence fee for over-75s to the BBC, who now face a difficult decision of
slashing up to £745 million from their own budget, forcing elderly people to pay
their own fee or a combination of both.
"This Tory Government is using stealth methods to hit
Welsh pensioners' pockets and in the process they are trying to pass the blame
onto the BBC who will also be hit hard by these disgraceful tactics both financially
and through their excellent reputation.
“The Government are already going to save £220 million in
2021/22 through their changes to pension credit and by going after free TV
licences as well they will make almost £1 billion by hitting the pockets of the
elderly.
"The pensioners in my constituency who could lose their
TV licence either now or when they reach qualifying age will be furious at this
Tory Government for breaking their manifesto promise and rightly so.”