Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
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Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
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MP Calls On Minister To Cut TV Licence Fee - only 25% of local households able to receive all BBC services
Local MP, Norman Baker, yesterday called on the Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, Shaun Woodward, to cut the TV licence fee for Lewes residents who cannot receive digital terrestrial television.
In the exchange in the House of Commons, the local MP forced an admission from the Minister that only a quarter of households in the Lewes constituency are currently able to receive digital terrestrial television. Mr Baker then went on to call for a discount for the 75% of local people who are only able to access half of the channels that, as licence payers, they are entitled to.
Mr Baker then went on to quiz the Minister over the possibility that, even after switchover in 2012, some local people may be unable to receive digital television due to a combination of poor reception of digital terrestrial for topographical reasons and planning restrictions governing the use of satellite dishes in conservation areas.
The Meridian region, which includes the Lewes constituency, will be one of the last regions in the UK to be switched over to digital under the proposed rollout plan published by the government last month. Under this plan, local residents will have to wait until 2011/12 before digital terrestrial becomes widely available.
Commenting on the exchange, Norman says:
"I have been raising this matter with the government for years now and they appear to have made disappointingly little progress on the matter. It is quite simply unfair that my constituents pay the same licence fee as everyone else but only get half the service from the BBC. This is why I have called on the Minister to cut the licence fee for local residents unable to receive digital terrestrial.
"What is more, I am by no means satisfied that after 2012, when the analogue signal is switched off, all these problems will all magically be resolved. The topography in this constituency combined with the fact that we are lucky enough to have a large number of conservation areas in the locality means that we are more than likely to be left with patches where receiving a digital signal other than via satellite dish may prove impossible. And how are people who need a satellite dish, but are prevented from having one by the council, going to receive any signal at all? The government need to address this issue more thoroughly than they seem to be at the moment. Waiting until 2012 and crossing their fingers in the meantime does not appear to me to be a very responsible approach. This is why I will continue to raise the matter in the Commons."