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
Jon Baylis
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx 27 May 2021
Dear Mr Baylis
Request for Information – RFI20210738
Thank you for your request to the BBC of 2nd May 2021 under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 (‘the Act’) seeking the following information:
“Please supply the information you have on the amount of house holds that invoke their common
law right and decline t.v licensing.”
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 overall responsibility.
For your information, 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. There is no common law right to avoid the statutory requirement for
a TV Licence when one is needed.
link to page 2 link to page 2
TV Licensing has a statutory duty to ensure that every address that watches or records live TV is
properly licensed. As stated on the TV Licensing website
1, TV Licensing visiting officers rely on an
implied right in common law to call at a property as far as the door, while going about their lawful
business and making their presence known. I have therefore taken your request to mean the
number of addresses that have withdrawn this implied right of acces
s2. I can confirm that we hold recorded information relevant to your request, however, we consider
that this is exempt from disclosure under section 31(1)(a), (b), (d) and (g) and 2(a) of the Act
which relates to law enforcement; i.e. that disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the
prevention or detection of crime, the collection of the licence fee and the BBC’s ability to
discharge its public functions in respect of such matters. This is because it would provide
information of use to those seeking to evade and/or assist others in evading paying the licence fee.
I am satisfied in terms of section 2(2) of the Act that in al the circumstances of the case, the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. I
have considered the public interest test in the section on ‘why information has been withheld’
below.
Please note that if visiting officers are refused access, TV Licensing reserves the right to use other
methods of detection.
Why information has been withheld I am required under section 2(2) of the Act to assess whether the public interest in maintaining
the exemptions outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. At the outset, we
would like to note that it is likely to be only in the most exceptional circumstances that it will be
appropriate to prejudice the discharge of a legal duty.
The BBC accepts that there is always a public interest in transparency, accountability and public
understanding in respect of TV Licensing’s operations. In this particular case the fol owing factors
are in favour of disclosure:
1. ensuring that the licensing authority is exercising its functions appropriately and
proportionately;
2. that public funds are being appropriately applied, and specifically that:
a.
the TV Licensing system is being efficiently run; and
b.
value for money is being obtained.
1
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-administering-the-licence-fee-AB20 2 The law of trespass is different in Scotland and therefore claims by Scottish addresses to withdraw the right of
implied right of access are not recognise and wil not be processed.
2
link to page 3
However, I consider that the above public interest factors in favour of disclosure are adequately
addressed by the following:
1. The substantial amount of information which the BBC publishes about TV Licensing’s
operations in its Annual Report and Accounts; on TV Licensing’s website
(www.tvlicensing.co.uk); in TV Licensing’s Annual Review publications
(www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/our-performance-AB6); and in the National Audit Office’s
annual Licence Fee Settlement Statement released at the end of each financial year.
2. The BBC Board is specifical y tasked under Article 20(7) of the BBC Charter with ensuring
that the arrangements for the collection of the Licence Fee are efficient, appropriate and
proportionate.
3. TV Licensing’s functions are subject to external review through reports of the Comptroller
and Auditor General to the House of Commons and directions given by the Treasury.
4. The BBC is required to satisfy the NAO as to the value for money of the col ection and
enforcement arrangements and is accountable for the economy, efficiency and effectiveness
of such arrangements. NAO's most recent audit is published a
t www.nao.org.uk.
5. The BBC has reduced the cost of col ection from 6.2% of the total licence fee collected in
1991/2, when it took over this responsibility from the Home Office, to just over 3% for the
financial year 2019/20. This demonstrates that the TV Licensing system is being efficiently
run.
In addition, the following factors are in favour of withholding the information:
1. The BBC has a duty to enforce the television licensing system and it is essential that
opportunities are not provided to potential or actual evaders to escape detection or
prosecution. There is a strong public interest in ensuring that information which prejudices
law enforcement is not disclosed.
2. There is a strong public interest in the BBC being able to collect all the licence fee money
to which it is entitled to enable the BBC to provide the public with services that
encompass its public mission to inform, educate and entertain.
3. Part of keeping evasion to a minimum is maintaining uncertainty as to TV Licensing’s
enforcement practices. This uncertainty contributes to the deterrent effect which is an
important part of TV Licensing’s enforcement strategy
3.
4. There is a strong public interest in ensuring the voluntary compliance with the licence fee
regime. Without an effective deterrent to licence fee evasion, evasion would invariably
3 The Information Commissioner has acknowledged in his Decision Notice
FS50476136 that there is a very strong
public interest in the BBC being able to enforce the television licensing system and in not disclosing information which
could impede the deterrent effect.
3
increase. This would be to the detriment of the majority of people who are properly
licensed, and who should not have to pay any more than is strictly necessary to ensure the
compliance of those who deliberately evade paying the licence fee.
5. An increase in the rate of licence fee evasion would lead to an increase in enforcement
costs and may lead to more prosecutions. There is a strong public interest in ensuring that
the BBC can keep enforcement costs to a minimum, because any increase in enforcement
costs will lead to a decrease in the funds available for producing the BBC’s content.
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. 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
4
