Free TV licences for elderly to stay - by a single vote

Thursday 08 October 2015

Free TV licences for the over-75s are to continue after all, after ministers lost their first battle of their four-year financial plan.

Last night politicians agreed – by a single vote – to over-rule ministers and find £157,000 per year to keep the free licence scheme, but to restrict it to those who really need it via a means test.

Ministers wanted to cut the benefit as part of a package of new charges, benefit cuts and savings from the public sector pay bill aimed to save £145 million by 2019 – but Deputy Judy Martin won the day after telling politicians that it was wrong to spend £157,000 on Personal Assistants to ministers, but not use it to support vulnerable elderly people.

It’s the first defeat that the Council of Ministers have had during the debate on their financial plans, which now heads into a third day.

So far, the debate has all gone the way that the Council of Ministers wanted, but today it shifts to the subject of education – there are amendments to increase the departments budget, to find £1.4 million for higher education funding, and to restore French language assistants in primary schools.

Deputy Martin – the longest-serving States Deputy – is a former Assistant Health Minister who now sits on Scrutiny committees.