TELLY viewers who fail to pay their BBC TV licence could be let off with little more than a slap on the wrist under new sentencing rules.
- Magistrates will soon be able to let them off with a conditional discharge and without a criminal conviction
Magistrates will soon be able to let them off with a conditional discharge and without even having to pay a fine.
Offenders will still have to admit guilt and the outcome is kept on the Police National Computer — but crucially, it will not count as a criminal conviction.
Conditional discharges will be a sentencing option only in the least serious cases.
Those likely to benefit include hard-up pensioners who fail to pay the compulsory £145.50 fee on time.
Students who move away from home for the first time and are unaware they need a licence could also benefit.
But offenders would have to have been without a licence for only a short period — or show they have made significant efforts to get one.
The guidelines set out possible factors that could reduce the seriousness of evasion.
They include the culprit experiencing “significant financial hardship” due to “exceptional circumstances”.
But the worst offenders — those who deliberately avoid getting one — will still face a fine or even jail.
The move is likely to be welcomed by campaigners who say inspectors often target poor families and single mums the most.
Last year a record 166,000 people were fined a total of £28million for not having a TV licence.
Seventy per cent were women, who were also seven times more likely to get the maximum £1,000 penalty.
In August 2015, then Justice Secretary Michael Gove said failing to pay the fee should be decriminalised to help free up the courts.
The changes will come into force on April 24, alongside a host of others.
They include harsher fines for speeding drivers, who will face coughing up at least 150 per cent of their weekly income, rather than the current 100 per cent.
District Judge Richard Williams, a Sentencing Council member, said: “The magistrates’ courts deal with the vast majority of offenders in England and Wales, so it is essential that the guidelines they use are up to date and help ensure that sentences are applied consistently and effectively.”
Malcolm Richardson, National Chairman of the Magistrates’ Association, said the new guidelines “will further help ensure the consistent effectiveness of the magistracy”.
TV Licence Resistance recommends you just have zero contact with BBC TV Licensing and then they can’t touch you; however just make sure the licence is cancelled first!