Wigan MP's fury at TV licence plan

As many as 18,710 households in the borough could have to shell out to watch their favourite shows if the public service broadcaster scraps free licences altogether.

That is one of three options being considered in a consultation, with the others being to raise the eligible age to 80 and means testing it.

All these ideas will see thousands of Wiganers lose their eligibility to watch for free, with the threshold rise potentially affecting 10,390 households in the borough and the means-testing causing up to 13,500 to lose out.

The consultation is taking place after the Government devolved responsibility for the policy, along with the cost of it, to the BBC itself.

The shock figures were prepared by the House of Commons Library and a local MP was quick to condemn the political manoeuvring behind the consultation.

Yvonne Fovargue, MP for Makerfield, said: “The Tory Government knew what it was doing when it forced the cost of paying for free licences for over 75s out to the BBC.

“Labour was completely opposed to this and we are still firmly of the belief that the Government was totally wrong to outsource a social policy in this way.

“It will be a terrible blow to older people who already struggle to make ends meet and particularly to those who are housebound or isolated and rely on their TV for company.

“The Government needs come clean and to tell us urgently what they are going to do to ensure free TV licences aren’t cut and they don’t break their manifesto promise.

“If they do nothing, responsibility for older people losing their TV licences will rest firmly at their feet.”

Currently any households with one member aged 75 or over in it is eligible for a free TV licence.

Nationally millions of people will be hit if the consultation’s ideas go through, with three million residents across the country having to pay if the licence were linked to pension credit and 1.8m people facing a bill if only over-80s could get a free licence.

MPs are furious as they say being able to watch their favourite programmes is vital for pensioners at risk of loneliness and social isolation.

Alarming figures from the Campaign to End Loneliness found 40 per cent of older people saying the TV is their main source of company.

And Age UK believe 873,000 pensioners did not see or hear from anyone else in the period between Christmas and New Year.

However, devolving the policy has also left the BBC facing an enormous bill, with free TV licences expected to cost £745m by 2021-22.

Residents are being urged to have their say on the BBC’s consultation, which runs until February 12.

Find out more or send a response at www.bbc.com/yoursay/consultation.pdf