The Wireless Telegraphy (Television Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2000

Statutory Instruments

2000 No. 630

TELEGRAPHS

The Wireless Telegraphy (Television Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2000

Made

6th March 2000

Laid before Parliament

8th March 2000

Coming into force

1st April 2000

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949(1), as it has effect in the United Kingdom and as extended by the Wireless Telegraphy (Channel Islands) Order 1952(2) and the Wireless Telegraphy (Isle of Man) Order 1952(3), and now vested in him(4), hereby, with the consent of the Treasury, makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Wireless Telegraphy (Television Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 1st April 2000.

(2) In these Regulations “the 1997 Regulations” means the Wireless Telegraphy (Television Licence Fees) Regulations 1997(5).

Amendment of 1997 Regulations

2.—(1) The 1997 Regulations shall be amended in accordance with this regulation.

(2) In regulation 2 there shall be inserted at the end–

“(c) “the due date” in relation to any television licence means the date on which the licensee is required to obtain the licence in accordance with the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 whether in consequence of the expiry of the previous licence or otherwise.”.

(3) In regulation 4 there shall be inserted at the end–

“(3) On the issue of a television licence of a type specified in an entry in column 1 of Schedule 4 to these Regulations and of the description specified in column 2 of that Schedule in relation to that entry, there shall be paid (irrespective of the duration of the licence) as the issue fee for a licence of that type and description the sum which is prescribed in column 3 of that Schedule in respect of that entry and thereafter as instalment payments such sums as are so prescribed.”.

(4) In Part I of Schedule 2–

(a) for “£33.50” in each place where it occurs there shall be substituted “ £34.50”, and

(b) for “£101.00” in each place where it occurs there shall be substituted “£104.00”.

(5) In Part II of Schedule 2–

(a) for the words “of pensionable age” in each place where they occur there shall be substituted the words “aged 60 years or more”, and

(b) the definition of “pensionable age” in each place where it occurs shall be omitted.

(6) In entry 1 in Schedule 3 for “£26.50” there shall be substituted “ £27.25”.

(7) For entries 2 and 3 in Schedule 3 there shall be substituted the entries set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

(8) After Schedule 3 there shall be inserted the Schedule set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

Chris Smith

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

2nd March 2000

We consent to these Regulations

Bob Ainsworth

Greg Pope

Two of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

6th March 2000

Regulation 2(7)

SCHEDULE 1 Entry to be substituted for entries 2 and 3 in Schedule 3 to the 1997 Regulations

“2. Budget instalment television licence (including colour)	A licence as described in column 2 of item 2 in Part I of Schedule 2, the fee for which is payable in the instalments specified in column 3 of this Schedule.	An issue fee of £51.98 and thereafter 6 monthly instalments of £8.67; or an issue fee of £59.45 and thereafter five instalments of £8.91; or an issue fee of £60.70 and thereafter five instalments of £8.66; or an issue fee of £56.75 and thereafter five instalments of £9.45; or an issue fee of £55.60 and thereafter five instalments of £9.68; or an issue fee of £52.00 and thereafter five instalments of £10.40; or an issue fee of £51.00 and thereafter five instalments of £10.60; or an issue fee of £46.25 and thereafter five instalments of £11.55; or an issue fee of £45.40 and thereafter five instalments of £11.72; or an issue fee of £39.00 and thereafter five instalments of £13.00; or an issue fee of £38.40 and thereafter five instalments of £13.12; or an issue fee of £29.40 and thereafter five instalments of £14.92; or an issue fee of £29.75 and thereafter five instalments of £14.85; or an issue fee of £17.35 and thereafter five instalments of £17.33; or an issue fee of £20.80 and thereafter four instalments of £20.80; or an issue fee of £26.00 and thereafter three instalments of £26.00; or an issue fee of £34.68 and thereafter two instalments of £34.66.
		In each case the first instalment shall be payable within the period of one month beginning immediately after the issue of the licence and the second and, where applicable, the third, fourth, fifth and sixth within the periods of two, three, four, five and six months respectively beginning immediately after that issue.
3. Easy entry television licence (not black and white only) (not in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man)	A licence as described in column 2 of item 2 in Part I of Schedule 2, the fee for which is payable in the instalments specified in column 3 of this Schedule which is issued to a person who, at the time of issue, is in receipt of one, or more, income related state benefit.	An issue fee of £4.00, and thereafter 25 weekly instalments of £4.00, or an issue fee of £52.00, and thereafter 13 fortnightly instalments of £4.00.”

Regulation 2(8)

SCHEDULE 2 Schedule inserted in the 1997 Regulations

Regulation 4(3)

“SCHEDULE 4 FEES FOR TRANSITIONAL AND INTERIM TELEVISION LICENCES

1. Type of licence	2. Description of licence	3. Fees
1. Transitional television licence (black and white only)	A licence as described in column 2 of entry 1 in Part I of Schedule 2, the fee for which is payable in accordance with column 3 of this Schedule, which is issued to a person who will have attained the age of 75 years before 1st November 2000.	An amount equal to £2.875 for each month, or part of a month, in the period beginning on the due date and ending on 31st October 2000 (the amount being rounded down to the nearest penny where necessary).
2. Transitional television licence (including colour)	A licence as described in column 2 of entry 2 in Part I of Schedule 2, the fee for which is payable in accordance with column 3 of this Schedule, which is issued to a person who will have attained the age of 75 years before 1st November 2000.	An amount equal to £8.666 for each month, or part of a month, in the period beginning on the due date and ending on 31st October 2000 (the amount being rounded down to the nearest penny where necessary), payable by– (a) a single payment, or (b) payment of an issue fee of an amount specified as an issue fee in column 3 of entries 1, 2 or 3 of Schedule 3, where applicable, and thereafter, as required to pay the balance of the amount due, instalments of the amount required to be paid in relation to that issue fee and a final instalment of not more than the amount of each instalment so required, such instalments to be paid at the time specified in relation to the corresponding instalments in column 3 of Schedule 3.
3. Interim television licence (black and white only)	A licence as described in column 2 of entry 1 in Part I of Schedule 2, the fee for which is payable in accordance with column 3 of this Schedule, which is issued to a person who will attain the age of 75 years after 31st October 2000 and within the period of 12 months beginning with the due date.	An amount equal to £2.875 for each month, or part of a month, in the period beginning on the due date and ending on the last day of the month before the month in which the licensee attains the age of 75 years (the amount being rounded down to the nearest penny where necessary).
4. Interim television licence (including colour)	A licence as described in column 2 of entry 2 in Part I of Schedule 2, the fee for which is payable in accordance with column 3 of this Schedule, which is issued to a person who will attain the age of 75 years after 31st October 2000 and within the period of 12 months beginning with the due date.	An amount equal to £8.666 for each month, or part of a month, in the period beginning on the due date and ending on the last day of the month before the month in which the licensee attains the age of 75 years (the amount being rounded down to the nearest penny where necessary), payable by– (a) a single payment, or (b) payment of an issue fee of an amount specified as an issue fee in column 3 of entries 1, 2 or 3 of Schedule 3, where applicable, and thereafter, as required to pay the balance of the amount due, instalments of the amount required to be paid in relation to that issue fee and a final instalment of not more than the amount of each instalment so required, such instalments to be paid at the time specified in relation to the corresponding instalments in column 3 of Schedule 3.”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations increase the amount of the basic fee for television licences from £33.50 to £34.50 in the case of black and white and from £101.00 to £104.00 in the case of colour. In the case of instalment licences–

(a) the issue fee for the premium instalment licence (which is not available in the Channel Islands) is increased from £26.50 to £27.25 with instalments increased from £26.50 to £27.25, the total amount payable being £109.00;

(b) amendments are made in relation to the budget instalment licence so that provision is made for seventeen specified issue fees and a number of instalments thereafter but in each case the total amount payable is £104.00;

(c) the issue fee for the easy entry licence (which is not available in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man) is increased from £3.90 to £4.00 with 25 weekly instalments of £4.00, the total amount payable being £104.00;

(d) the easy entry licence is further amended by the introduction of an alternative issue fee of £52.00 with 13 fortnightly instalments of £4.00, the total amount payable being £104.00.

Amendments are made in relation to the accommodation for residential care composite form licence by substituting for the words “of pensionable age ” the words “aged 60 years or more”. The effect of this is to include within the scope of the provision retired persons aged 60 years or more.

The Regulations also make provision in consequence of the introduction of free television licences for those aged 75 years and over from 1st November 2000. Transitional licences will be issued to licensees who will attain the age of 75 years before 1st November 2000 and who are required to obtain a licence before that date and interim licences will be issued to licensees who will attain the age of 75 years after 31st October 2000 and less than 12 months after the date on which they are required to obtain the licence.

(1)

1949 c. 54; section 2 is amended by paragraph 2 of Part I of Schedule 18 to the Broadcasting Act 1990 (c. 42) (paragraph 2(2) of Part I of Schedule 18 is repealed by the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1998 (c. 6)). The said Part I was extended to Guernsey by the Broadcasting Act 1990 (Guernsey) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/191), to Jersey by the Broadcasting Act 1990 (Jersey) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/193) and to the Isle of Man by the Broadcasting Act 1990 (Isle of Man) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/192). Section 2 is further amended by paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1998.

(2)

S.I. 1952/1900.

(3)

S.I. 1952/1899.

(4)

Post Office Act 1969 (c. 48); S.I. 1969/1369, 1371, 1974/691.

(5)

S.I. 1997/290, amended by S.I. 1998/558, 1999/765.