Shropshire campaigners back TV licence petition
Charity campaigners in Shropshire have attacked government plans to cut funding for "vital" elderly people's TV licences.
Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin wants to encourage signatures for a petition demanding the government continue its funding scheme for licences for the over-75s, which will end in June 2020.
Chief executive of Age UK STW, Heather Osborne said: "One in six pensioners are living in poverty in the UK, that’s over 18,000 in Shropshire. Paying a hefty extra bill would simply be impossible when many older people are struggling to pay for their heating and food bills.
"For an estimated 10,000 older people suffering from isolation and loneliness in the county, the TV is sometimes the only means by which older people gain enjoyment and entertainment; it triggers imagination and raises curiosity about the world around us."
The cost of a television licence increased from April this year from £150.50 to £154.50.
In November last year the BBC, which will have to manage and pay for any future such scheme, launched a consultation that ended in February. The BBC board plans to make a decision by this summer.
Age UK's national petition at www.ageuk.org.uk/tvpetition says: "Together, we must demand the Government takes back responsibility for funding free TV licences for everyone over 75."
It has attracted more than 118,000 signatures.
