British Broadcasting Corporation Room BC2 A4 Broadcast Centre White City Wood Lane London W12 7TP
Telephone 020 8008 2882 Email xxx@xxx.xx.xx
Information Rights
bbc.co.uk/foi
bbc.co.uk/privacy
C. Wilson
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx 7 February 2022
Dear Sir/Madam
Request for Information – RFI20220087
Thank you for your request to the BBC dated 10th January 2022 under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’) seeking the fol owing information:
“Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,
1. In the event that a person does not by law need a TV licence, is that person required by law to
inform the BBC TVL of that fact?
2. If the answer to (1), above is yes, please state which law applies. (Act and specific Section(s))
3. In the event that a person does not need a licence and has not informed the BBC TVL of that
fact, is the BBC TVL required by law to contact that person to ask them to inform the BBC TVL
that they do not need a licence?
4. If the answer to (3) above is yes, please state specifically which law applies (Act and specific
Section(s))
5. In the event that a person does not need a TV licence, has not informed the BBC TVL of that
fact and receives letters from the BBC TVL requesting whether they need a licence, is the person
required by law to respond to those letters?
6. If the answer to (5) above is yes, please state which law applies (Act and specific Section(s)).
7. In the event that a person does not need a licence, has not informed the BBC TVL of that fact
and has not replied to letters from BBC TVL, is the BBC TVL required by law to carry out an
investigation to ascertain whether a licence is required at that property?
8. If the answer to (7) above is yes, please state which law applies (Act and specific Section(s)).”
Please note that “TV Licensing” is a trade mark 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 Limited (‘Capita’). Over-the-counter services are provided by PayPoint plc (‘PayPoint’) in
the UK, and by the Post Office in the Isle of Man and Channel Islands. Target Group Limited
(‘Target’) is the supplier for the Simple Payment Plan. Marketing and printing services are
contracted to RAPP Limited (formerly Proximity London Limited). Media services are contracted
to Havas Media Limited. The BBC is a public authority in respect of its television licensing
functions and retains overal responsibility.
Please be advised that the Act gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information
held by public authorities; and that we are not required to create new information to respond to a
request, or give a judgement or opinion that is not already recorded.
Although you have stated that these are requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, we
do not consider that they al fal under the terms of the Act, because they are not requests for
recorded information which the BBC holds but actually a series of questions concerning statutory
TV licensing requirements and enforcement practices. We are happy, however, to respond to
these questions voluntarily - outside the scope of the Act – where relevant recorded information
enables us to answer them.
By way of background, the requirement to hold a TV Licence and to pay a fee for it is mandated
by law under the Communications Act 2003 and Communications (Television Licensing)
Regulations 2004 (as amended). It is an offence to watch or record television programmes as they
are being shown on any channel and on any broadcast platform (terrestrial, satellite, cable and the
internet) or download or watch BBC programmes on demand, including catch up TV, on BBC
iPlayer without a valid TV Licence. Anyone who watches or records television programmes as
they're being shown on TV without a valid TV Licence runs the risk of prosecution.
In accordance with the legislation above, TV Licensing has a statutory duty to ensure that every
address where television receiving equipment is installed or used to watch or record television
programmes as they are being shown on TV is properly licensed. Therefore, TV Licensing writes
to all addresses where there is no record of a licence or the current licensing requirements (if
any) are unknown. Our address database is continual y updated to ensure it is as accurate as
possible at any point in time; however, TV Licensing relies on individuals to inform us if their
details are not accurate or if their circumstances have changed.
There is no legal obligation to respond to TV Licensing communications, however, if no response
is received from an address, the tone of the letters progressively becomes stronger to encourage
a reply. The address will also be listed for a visit from a TV Licensing visiting officer to enquire
about the licensing requirements. Detection is only used if these, more cost-effective enforcement
methods have been exhausted.
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Similarly, there is no legal obligation for people to inform TV Licensing whether or not they are
watching or recording TV as it is being shown. However, in order to ascertain whether a licence is
needed, we will continue to write to and visit unlicensed addresses which have not responded to
our communications. Therefore, we encourage people who genuinely do not require a TV Licence
to make an No Licence Needed declaration
1, in order to ensure our database is accurate and to
minimise contact with those who do not need a licence.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied that we have complied with the Act in responding to your request, you
have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior manager or legal adviser. Please contact us at
the address above, explaining what you would like us to review and including your reference
number. A request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of receiving the
BBC’s response to your original request.
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, Tel: 0303 123 1113 or see
https://ico.org.uk/. Yours sincerely
Rupinder Panesar
Freedom of Information Advisor, TV Licensing Management Team
1 If you do not use any device to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown, you can contact TV
Licensing to make a No Licence Needed (“NLN”) declaration in accordance with the BBC TV Licensing No Licence
Needed Policy. Further information about NLN is available on the TV Licensing website at
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/telling-us-you-dont-need-a-tv-licence.
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