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BBC Rona Fairhead

David Perry QC to lead review into TV licence fee payment enforcement, government announces

By Angela Haggerty, Reporter

October 21, 2014 | 3 min read

David Perry QC, who has worked on high profile legal cases such as the Cash for Honours scandal, the prosecution of Abu Hamza and phone-hacking prosecutions against Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman, will independently lead a review into TV licence payment enforcement.

David Perry QC

Review: David Perry QC

The review was announced by culture secretary Sajid Javid in September and its terms of reference were published today by the government. It will make recommendations to parliament and the BBC Trust by the end of June 2015, and comes amid increasing political pressure to decriminalise non-payment of the BBC licence fee.

The terms of reference state the review's objectives as: “To examine where the sanctions for contravening this offence [licence fee non-payment] are appropriate, fair and whether the regime represents value for money for licence fee payers; and identify and assess options for amending the current enforcement regime, including those for decriminalisation of TV licensing offences, and whether these options would represent an improvement.”

The review will consider the “value for money” for licence fee payers and tax payers in enforcing non-payment, including costs for the BBC and the courts, as well as the effectiveness of current enforcement methods in deterring people from non-payment.

Consultation will take place with the public, the BBC, government stakeholders, the courts and other interested parties.

The terms were released as new BBC Trust chair Rona Fairhead faced questions from the culture, media and sport committee in one of her first major appearances since taking the role.

According to the Guardian, when asked about potential decriminalisation of the licence fee, Fairhead said: “It is entirely appropriate that all the facts are gathered in terms of what the options are. Once those facts are established, we will be in a better situation to decide is that the appropriate route to go down with civil penalties rather than criminal.”

Earlier this year, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg warned against any moves that might “lessen the signal that people should pay their licence fee”. However, Labour are understood to be more open to the idea.

BBC Rona Fairhead

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