Esther Rantzen

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the BBC and The government should find a way to secure free TV licences for all over 75s, a Committee of MPs has said.

The House of Commons media select Committee, said that the new position, where only those calling for pension credit, which is granted when an "absurd situation".

The BBC said it will continue to scrap free TV licenses for up to 3. 7 Million People.

A government spokesman said: "We are disappointed with the BBC, the decision not to free licences for the over 75s. "

He added: "We have been clear that we want and expect it to continue this concession. The taxpayers want to see the BBC with its licence fee-to ensure income in an appropriate way, it delivers for the British audience. We respond to the select committee report in due course. "

'Errors' on both sides

But, Sir David Clementi , Chairman of the BBC, said The Committee recognised there was no "automatic assumption" that the BBC would continue to carry the Cost of free TV licences.

the MPs also said there was "clear evidence" that the BBC's funding model was At Risk , because Young People switch to online services.

"Behind closed doors" negotiations on license-fee-financing - which led to next Year - were said in the "error" on both sides, Digital, culture, media and Sport Committee.

the BBC Director General, Tony Hall , criticized for his handling of the 2015 negotiations.

The MPs said he failed, after the formal approval of the BBC Executive Board before the recommendation of the BBC Trust-The Deal struck with the government. They added that the BBC should have already communicated that it cannot be promoted all The Free licences from the Year 2020.

The Committee also said the government was wrong, "bounce", to accept the BBC's offer, the add to the group in a "difficult position" as an administrator of social services.

Getty ImagesTV license

- £154. 50Annual Cost of a color TV

£745mEstimated Cost to the BBC of the current Scheme by 2021/22

£250mEstimated Cost of the new Scheme , depending on the take-up

190,000 people consulted, the change in

52%in favor of Reform or abolition of The Free license Scheme

The BBC had declared, first of all ready in 2015, the responsibility for the financing of the Scheme by 2020, as part of the charter contract, including the modalities for the governance of the BBC.

according to the new rules announced by the BBC in June, only low-income households, where a person receives The Pension credit benefit is also entitled to a free license.

funding of free TV licences for all over-75s would have led "unprecedented " closures", the BBC said in June.

The MPs' report said: "It is clear from The Correspondence between the government and the BBC in the Year 2015, that there is no automatic assumption that the BBC would continue to carry the Cost of a blanket licence fee exemption for" over-75s. "

'Not fair' to treat people

Damian Collins, Chairman of The Committee , said the BBC and the government needs to "come up with a long-term plan" in order to continue the financing.

Older viewers were made "A Promise by the government and the BBC that The Free licence would continue to be charged for all over 75," he told Bbc News .

"And you end up in a position where she is told, it will not happen anymore. It happened as a result of a lot done behind closed doors between the government and the BBC, was poorly executed, poorly thought out.

"Clearly, the BBC sums don't add up now, and you can't afford to take on the responsibility. Therefore, there is a sleight of hand to say, 'Oh, no, now we are not to do it, and we never promised that we would' is acceptable and not to be treated in a fair manner, often very old and vulnerable people in our society. "

Free TV licences 'wrong policy'

Ed Vaizey MP, who bounced culture was a Minister in the time of The Deal , The Corporation was "" in of the policy.

"It was a negotiation, it was a give-and-take, but I think in retrospect that it was wrong to impose to the BBC, what was effectively a welfare policy, and ask them to take the responsibility, go for it forward," he told BBC Radio 4 's Today programme.

The BBC has the right solution, though, he added. "I think that a free-TV license for anyone over 75 is likely to be the wrong policy," he said.

"But I do not agree with The Committee that if the government is of the opinion that there is a free TV licence for the over 75, the government should Finance partner with the BBC and help to the Cost . "

"Don't victimise the elderly'

Broadcaster, Dame Esther Rantzen , founder of the Silver Line helpline, said that many isolated older people relied on the BBC-TV, and urged the government and the society, in order to jointly find a solution.

"Please, don't victimise people who depend on the BBC-TV is the only company in your life," she told Bbc Breakfast .

the Former BBC Chairman Lord Grade said that free TV licences should be stored for all over-75s, but that The Corporation was "without reproach". He told Breakfast: "The BBC can't afford to pay," added that it already as a "work of genius" in search of the £250m to cover licenses free of charge for those on pension credit.

viewing habits continue to evolve and change

The Report also said that it discovered a "disturbing images" of the total-financed by the BBC, as the revenue from the license fee the fee to keep pace with the Cost of production.

the release of The Report , Mr Collins added that the "fast - changing viewing habits of younger audiences" away from broadcast TV, online and on-demand channels "poses a further threat to the BBC licence fee revenue in The Future published".

He said: "We see clear evidence that the funding model of the BBC sustainable without a significant increase in the commercial income of the BBC Studios and the new subscription-on-demand viewing from services like Britbox. "

The Report criticised "poor management, leadership and governance at the BBC", which it blamed for problems such as.

And it said it was "still a long way to go", the resolution of the gender pay gap, although there is some evidence that the BBC is to continue to work to solve it. to do

'Different way of doing things,'

Sir David Clementi added: "There is also the clear conclusion from The Committee that it is not sustainable for the BBC on the takeover of the full Cost for all of these free licenses alone.

"therefore, there must be another way to do things in The Future . "

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bbc, elderly people, digital, culture, media and sport committee, television

Source of news: bbc.com