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
James Aravis
Via email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
07 September 2018
Dear Mr Aravis
Request for Information – RFI20181566
Thank you for your request of 13th August 2018 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’)
seeking the following information:
“On multiple occasions I have enquired with the TV licensing authority directly to request the figures
for 17/18 of licenses in force, every time I receive a reply completely ignoring my request and asking
questions of myself which are completely inappropriate and unrelated.
For the fifth time, and the firsr [sic] with yourselves, I would like to know the figures for TV Licenses
in Force for the year 17/18 as you have not updated the figures on the website or in any other
media since the date they should have been uploaded (April/May 2018)
Please advise whether you are wil ing to assist me or whether I have to formally submit an FOI with
all of my supporting evidence and legal arguments.”
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 Ltd (‘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 (‘Target’) is the supplier for the Simple Payment Plan trial. Marketing and
printing services are contracted to Proximity London Ltd. Media services are contracted to Media Planning
Limited trading as Havas Media UK. The BBC is a public authority in respect of its television licensing
functions and retains overall responsibility.
Please be advised that the number of licences in force as at the end of the 2017/18 financial year
(25.8million) was published in the TV Licensing Annual Review on 11th July. This is readily available on the
TV Licensing website a
t http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/our-performance-AB6. The FOI section of the
TV Licensing website is currently under review and wil be updated soon. However, for your convenience, I
can confirm that the specific figure as at the end of this time period (31st March 2018) is 25,836,495.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied that the BBC has 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 under the Act 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 SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123
1113 or see
https://ico.org.uk/. Kind regards
Rupinder Panesar
Freedom of Information Advisor, TV Licensing Management Team
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