TV Licensing Costs of Collection
Financial Year
08/09
07/08
06/07
05/06
04/05
03/04
£m
%
£m
%
£m
%
£m
%
£m
%
£m
%
Collection costs incl call centres, field force, detection and over the counter
88.4
73.7%
87.3
71.8%
98.9
74.6%
115.6
75.4%
113.9
74.9%
117.7
77.9%
Depreciation of new systems
1.1
0.9%
1.2
1.0%
0.8
0.6%
1.0
0.7%
1.3
0.9%
2.0
1.3%
Communications including reminders and information campaigns
22.3
18.6%
22.6
18.6%
19.0
14.3%
22.4
14.6%
19.9
13.1%
18.3
12.1%
Postage
7.1
5.9%
9.1
7.5%
10.7
8.1%
10.6
6.9%
12.2
8.0%
9.4
6.2%
Administration and contract management
1.0
0.8%
1.4
1.2%
3.2
2.4%
3.8
2.5%
4.7
3.1%
3.6
2.4%
119.9
100.0%
121.6
100.0%
132.6
100.0%
153.4
100.0%
152.0
100.0%
151.0
100.0%
Licence fee revenue
        3,493.8
 
        3,368.3
 
        3,242.9
 
        3,100.6
 
        2,940.3
 
2,798.1
         
Costs as % of licence fee
3.4%
3.6%
4.1%
4.9%
5.2%
5.4%
Licences in Force (excl ARC)
  24,871,994
 
  24,740,047
 
  24,545,516
 
  24,418,757
 
  24,161,532
 
23,898,749
   
Cost per licence
£4.82
£4.92
£5.40
£6.28
£6.29
£6.32
Cost per licence as % of licence fee
3.5%
3.6%
4.1%
5.0%
5.2%
5.4%
Collection costs incl call centres, field force, detection and over the counter 
£3.55
£3.53
£4.03
£4.73
£4.71
£4.92
services (net of recharges re o75s)
Depreciation of new systems
£0.04
£0.05
£0.03
£0.04
£0.05
£0.08
Communications including reminders and information campaigns
£0.90
£0.91
£0.77
£0.92
£0.82
£0.77
Postage
£0.29
£0.37
£0.44
£0.43
£0.50
£0.39
Administration and contract management
£0.04
£0.06
£0.13
£0.16
£0.19
£0.15
£4.82
£4.92
£5.40
£6.28
£6.29
£6.32
Further breakdown of the specific aspects of the collection contracts is not readily available as the fee structure
for our main contractor Capita is based on licence sales and encompasses all aspects of the service provision
across the call centres and the field operations.
The cost per licence reflects the average cost, most cost less, some cost more depending on the level of chasing required.
Fines collected are not given to the BBC or TV Licensing - they are a matter for the courts.

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