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Joan Bakewell: Over-75s should keep paying for licence fee if they can afford it and 'love the BBC'

The broadcaster and Labour peer backed a BBC plan to ask over-75s to opt in

Tuesday 14 July 2015 02:04 BST

Joan Bakewall said she was 'outraged and distressed' by the Government making the BBC foot the bill for licence fees for the over-75s (Getty Images)

The broadcaster Dame Joan Bakewell has urged the over-75s to continue to pay for their licence fee, if they can afford it, in order to help the beleaguered BBC.

The Labour peer and former government voice of older people backed a BBC plan to ask over-75s to opt in to paying for their free licence fees, after the corporation agreed to shoulder the £725m annual burden of the policy.

“When I heard that the Government was planning to withdraw funding for free licence fees for the over-75s, and foist the cost onto the BBC, I was outraged and distressed,” Dame Joan told Radio Times.

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

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1/8What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

Welfare payments will be slashed

One of the most controversial parts of the Conservative manifesto was to cut benefits for the working age poor by £12 bn over the next three years. But during the campaign they only said where £2 bn of these savings would come from. That leaves £10 bn still to find. Some experts think the only way they can close that gap is by means testing child benefit – with millions of families losing out

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be tax cuts for those in work and those who die

The Tories will increase the threshold at which the 40p rate of tax becomes payable to £50,000 by 2020. They haven’t said so but it is also likely that at some point in the next five years they will abolish that 45p rate of tax altogether for the highest earners. They also want to increase the effective inheritance tax threshold for married couples and civil partners to £1m

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be an in/out EU referendum in 2017

The next two years are going to be dominated by the prospect of a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. First off David Cameron has the daunting task of negotiating a deal with other EU leaders an acceptable deal that he can sell to his party so he can go into the referendum campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote. This may be unachievable and it is possible that the Tories may end up arguing to leave. Opinion polls show Britain is divided on EU membership, one poll this year showed 51% said they would opt to leave compared to 49% who would vote to stay in

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be more privatisation of the NHS

Having won the election the Tories now have a mandate to go further and faster reforming the NHS. In order to make cost savings there is likely to be greater private involvement in running services, while some smaller hospitals may lose services they currently provide like A&E and maternity units

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There will be many more free schools – and traditional state schools will become a thing of the past

The Tories plans to create 500 new free schools and make 3,000 state schools become academies. They will also carry on reforming the Department of Education and remove more powers from local authorities over how schools are run

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

On shore wind farms will be a thing of the past and fracking will be the future

Government spending on renewable energy is under real threat now the Lib Dems are no longer in power with the Tories. Subsidies are likely to be slashed for off-shore wind farm and other green energy supplies. Meanwhile there will be generous tax break for fracking as ministers try and incentivise the industry to drill for onshore oil and gas

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

There maybe more free childcare – but not necessarily

In the campaign the Tories pledged to double the amount of free early education for three- and four-year-olds from 15 hours a week to 30. The extra hours would only be offered to working families where parents are employed for at least eight hours a week. However they have not said where the money will come from to fund the pledge

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What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain?

Workers' rights could be reduced

The Tories want to slash business regulation, merge regulator and cut costs. The Lib Dems stopped them from reducing the employment rights of workers in power – but these are now under threat

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“It’s one of the social benefits Government bestows on the old, like free bus passes and the winter fuel allowance. I think it’s quite sneaky to roll out social policy disguised as a BBC contribution to austerity. It isn’t for the BBC to decide how and who receives government support.”

“So what can we over-75s do? The BBC says it will introduce a scheme for those who want to opt back in to paying the licence fee. But that will take time. Right now I’m told the best plan is to get in touch with TV Licensing, who collect the fee, and tell them you want to start paying again. If you love the BBC, and if you can afford £2.80 a week, what are you waiting for?”

Dame Joan described the BBC as a “lifeline” for the 5 million over-75s in the UK. “Many of us live alone, far from our families. The old know loneliness and isolation, even depression. The BBC to them is more than entertainment. It’s been there all our long lives and we’re immensely proud of it.”

She added: “When I was old enough to receive the winter fuel allowance I decided it wasn’t for the likes of me – well-heeled middle-class people with enough money to pay. My neighbour Robert Plant (the Led Zeppelin singer) was bemused, too, when he received his. Didn’t they know he’s a millionaire rock star?

“So I tried to send the money back. I got a starchy official letter explaining, ‘There is no mechanism for taking this money back.’ So I was stuck with it. I complained enough for others to get in touch. Then I heard you could contribute to a charity set up to take just such donations. Which I did.”

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