TV Licence Charges for the Over-75s Back on for August

The introduction of paid TV licences for older folk who used to get access to the BBC for nothing is back on, with the broadcaster's director general saying the brown-letter demands may start hitting the tidy door mats of the nation's most senior citizens this August.

The previous introduction of licence fee for over-75s was delayed in March of this year, as part of an effort to help the lesser connected members of society keep up on all the grim modern news and watch, live, as the net closes in on them. Lord Hall said the BBC is "preparing for an August launch" of the paid scheme, adding that it needs to be joined by a big old national brainstorming session about how to best fund the broadcaster in the future.

Hall said: "I hope that there will be a big debate about the best way of funding the BBC. I hope even when I've left I can take part in that debate and we should look at the easiest way to pay, learn from what happens in other countries, are there fairer ways to pay, but the underpinning for all that is the idea of a BBC which is providing something for everyone." [Standard]