BBC attacked over missing £200m in TV licence fees

The BBC should do more to catch television licence-fee dodgers, who are costing the corporation more than £200m a year, a committee of MPs said yesterday.

The all-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said in a report that two million people were failing to pay the annual fee of £112. "Television licence evasion reduces the money available for programme making and potentially increases the cost of a licence for those who do pay," it said.

Yet officials investigating suspected fee evasion failed to track down householders in four out of five visits. Figures published by the committee showed that officials visited 657,000 properties that were empty, still being built or that did not exist. They also visited 71,000 properties that were already licensed.

MPs also criticised fines imposed on licence dodgers, and warned that prosecuting people did not make them pay up in the future. A BBC television advertising campaign warns of a potential fine of £1,000 for licence evasion. But the committee found dodgers were fined an average of £100.26. Average court costs were £40.57.

The report said: "More than half of those convicted for evasion are not paying the fines imposed by the courts, and around a third ... are prosecuted a second time because they continue to evade."

MPs acknowledged that licence-fee evasion was falling but warned of inaccuracies in the BBC's database of properties requiring a licence. They said retailers should do more to alert the authorities when they sell new television sets.

The committee also criticised the BBC for failing to allow either it or the National Audit Office (NAO) access to financial records. Edward Leigh, the committee chairman, said: "This report highlights a significant anomaly in public accountability. The Comptroller and Auditor General's rights of access to the BBC are limited only to the collection of the licence fee.

"Beyond this, the PAC and the NAO currently have no role, the argument being that scrutiny by the NAO and the PAC would interfere with editorial independence. This argument does not stand up. We examine financial management at universities without compromising academic freedom."

He added: "Neither the NAO nor my committee has any interest in examining the BBC's editorial judgements. We are interested in how effectively they manage their finances ... My committee considers it essential that the BBC be opened up to proper parliamentary oversight. The general public pay £2bn each year in licence fees and have the right to independent assurance that their money is used well."

A BBC spokesman said: "Licence-fee evasion is against the law and although we would prefer people to pay than be prosecuted, we will continue to pursue evaders, while offering easy payment methods to those who need them.

"We note the PAC's recognition that the BBC has made good progress in reducing the evasion rate ... Successive governments have agreed that the examination of the BBC's accounts by independent auditors rather than the NAO is necessary to avoid the potential for any political influence which would endanger the impartiality and freedom of the corporation."