Review into TV licence enforcement

An independent review assessing current TV licence enforcement is seeking views for possible reforms to the system.
The Government announced an independent review into TV Licence Enforcement in September 2014.

The Review has been assessing options to change current enforcement measures, including the decriminalisation of TV licence evasion offences.
It is looking to identify whether such options could improve the existing system.

As it stands, a person who installs or uses a television receiver without a TV licence is guilty of a criminal offence under the Communications Act 2003 and can be fined up to £1,000.
In some cases where there is a refusal to pay the fine and where all other enforcement methods have been tried or considered, a person can be sent to jail for non-payment of a court-imposed fine.
The Review has set out six policy options for the future of TV Licence Enforcement and is seeking interested parties to provide evidence and views on these.

The policy options are: do nothing and retain the current criminal enforcement system; reform the current system; retain criminal offence but allow an out of court settlement; retain criminal offence but establish a fixed monetary penalty; decriminalise and enforce via a civil infraction; and decriminalise and enforce as a civil debt.

Following this consultation period, the views expressed in the consultation will be considered and will inform the final report to Ministers. The Review will report by the end of June 2015 and findings will be presented to Parliament and the BBC Trust.