Tessa Jowell announces cost of Digital switchover help scheme
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The scheme to deliver help to assist older and disabled people with the switch to digital television will cost around £600 million, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell announced today.
The amount will be ring-fenced in the forthcoming television licence fee settlement.
The help scheme, which will provide support to install and use the equipment to convert one television set to digital, will be free to older and disabled people who receive income-related benefits.
Older and disabled people who do not receive income related benefits will pay a subsidised fee of £40, Ms Jowell confirmed today.
The announcement was made on the day the Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons.
The Bill would allow social security and war pensions information to be disclosed to the BBC during digital switchover.
The information would be used to identify people who are eligible for support under the digital switchover help scheme, which will be funded through the television licence fee.
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Under the terms of the scheme, extra help switching to digital television will:
- go to all households with one person aged 75 or over;
- go to all households where one person has a significant disability (receiving attendance allowance, disability living allowance or equivalent benefits under the war pension or industrial injuries disablement benefit schemes) and
- go to households where one person is registered blind or registered partially sighted
Ms Jowell said:
“The public have told us that the BBC should be at the forefront of digital broadcasting, helping people adapt to new technologies. That’s why we set it the task of building a digital Britain and ensuring no-one is left behind in the switch to digital television. This money will enable it to deliver this.
“It reflects the BBC duty to ensure its services are received by as many people in the UK as possible.
“And the BBC itself will benefit from switchover, which will end the costly need to broadcast both analogue and digital signals.”
Digital switchover will give people a greater choice of affordable digital television options and allow the British broadcasting industry to work with the most up-to-date technology. Until switchover takes place, around a quarter of UK homes will not be able to receive digital television through an aerial.
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Notes to editors
1. The Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill is part of the Government’s legislative programme, as set out in the Queen’s Speech on November 15 2006.
2. The BBC white paper A public service for all: the BBC in the Digital Age stated that the BBC “should help establish, and should fund, schemes to ensure that the most vulnerable households are not left behind.”
3. The scope of the Bill has similarities to the Television Licences (Disclosure of Information) Act 2000. This enables the Department for Work and Pensions and its Northern Ireland equivalent to disclose social security information to the BBC for the over-75s free TV licence scheme.
4. The digital switchover help scheme supports the Government’s objective of completing digital television switchover between 2008 and 2012.
5. Starting in Whitehaven at the end of 2007 and the rest of Borders in 2008, digital switchover will roll out in the UK by ITV region until the programme is completed in Northern Ireland in 2012.
6. The Bill, along with other digital switchover publications including a description of the scheme and the core receiver requirements for free-to-view set top boxes to be provided by the scheme can be viewed here.
7. Digital UK is the independent, not-for-profit organisation leading digital television switchover in the UK. The company is overseeing the upgrading of the UK’s 1,154 television transmitters, works with industry to ensure understanding and support for switchover and explains switchover to the public. As part of this role, Digital UK will manage help scheme communications work. For a press pack and other materials visit the Digital UK website.
Press Enquiries: 020 7211 6052/6277
Out of hours telephone pager no: 07699 751153
Public Enquiries: 020 7211 6200
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