Poll: Is it time to scrap the TV Licence?
As review of the penalties for non-payment of the TV licence was set to move a step closer today, we want to know if your think the licence should be scrapped altogether.
MPs were today expected to back an amendment to the Deregulation Bill that will require an examination of reform options and give ministers the power to make it a civil offence.
Significant cross-party backbench support to remove the threat of a criminal record and jail sentence for non-payers prompted the Government to propose the review, which Labour also backs.
The BBC, which had warned an immediate switch would hit funding for its services by encouraging evasion, has signalled a willingness to discuss changes as part of negotiations over the renewal of its charter, due in 2017.
Is it time to scrap the TV Licence or is it essential to the special character of the BBC? Vote in our poll and have your say in the comment box below.
Cases of people accused of evading the £145.50 fee accounted for more than one in 10 criminal prosecutions last year, with 155,000 convicted and fined, encouraging more than 150 MPs to back a decriminalisation campaign led by Tory Andrew Bridgen.
The new proposals require Culture Secretary Maria Miller to carry out a review of the sanctions, lasting up to a year, within three months of the Deregulation Bill being passed.
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