J Slim
[FOI #206 email]
15 May 2008
Dear J Slim,
Freedom of information request – RFI20080413
Thank you for your request received on 16 April 2008 seeking further information about TV
Licensing. Your request is being dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”).
Please note that “TV Licensing” is a trading name used by companies contracted by the BBC to
administer the collection of television licence fees and enforcement of the television licensing
system. The majority of the administration of TV Licensing is contracted to Capita Business
Services Ltd (which undertakes the majority of the administration of the TV Licensing system), with
the administration of our cash related payment schemes contracted to Revenues Management
Services Ltd (RMS). PayPoint Network Ltd and PayPoint Collections Ltd are contracted to provide
over-the-counter services. The marketing and public relations activities are contracted to the AMV
Consortium. The consortium is made up of the following four companies: Abbott Mead Vickers
BBDO Ltd, Fishburn Hedges Boys Williams Limited, PHD Media Limited and Proximity London Ltd.
The BBC is a public authority in respect of its television licensing functions and retains overall
responsibility.
In your message you asked the following (I have numbered your questions for ease of reference):
1.
I would like information about the number of people in the UK who have been caught and
prosecuted for not owning a TV licence in the year 2007.
Regarding the number of people in the UK who have been caught, I assume by this question that
you are referring to the number of people from whom prosecution statements have been taken.
The figures for evaders who were caught across the UK and broken down by nation during 2007
are as follows:
Location
Number of evaders caught
England 291857
Scotland
82408
N Ireland
18541
Wales
20858
Total
413664
Regarding the number of people prosecuted, please note TV Licensing reviews all first offence
cases on their individual merits and does not prosecute except where it is in the public interest to
do so.
Although you specifically mention the Freedom of Information Act in your request, information is
exempt under section 21(1) of this Act if it constitutes information which is accessible to the
applicant by other means. In relation to your particular question, official statistics on prosecutions
are retained by the Home Office and published in their annual report
Criminal Statistics England
and Wales. The latest versions of the report can be found on the Home Office website at
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/. At various points these statistics have been made public,
particularly in relation to questions asked in parliament (which are available in Hansard) and other
government publications.
2.
I would also like to know what the success rate of those prosecutions was.
In practice, TV Licensing has a 99.9%
conviction rate for cases of TV licence evasion which are
prosecuted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (prosecutions in Scotland are carried out by
the Procurator Fiscal and not TV Licensing, hence we are not aware of the number of actual
convictions in Scotland. However, the Scottish Executive may have these figures).
3.
Finally I would like to know what it costs the BBC annually to enforce the TV Licence.
The answer to your question is contained in the enclosed document,
TV Licensing Costs of
Collection. As you will see, this contains details of the licence fee revenue, total costings and a
breakdown of collection costs.
Appeal rights
If you are not satisfied with this response you have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior
manager or legal adviser. Please contact us at the address provided, explaining what you would
like us to review and including your reference number.
If you are not satisfied with the internal
review, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. The contact details are: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone
01625 545 700 or see http://www.ico.gov.uk/
I hope this response is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Natalie Saunderson
Policy Adviser
BBC TV Licensing Management Team
