Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2008.

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

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A decision made (18/02/2008) regarding: Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2008.

Decision Reference: MD-E-2008-0034
Decision Summary Title :	Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2008		Date of Decision Summary:	14th February 2007
Decision Summary Author:	Dr Jason Lane – Director of Regulatory Services		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	n/a
Written Report Title :	The Communications (TV) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 Licensing Regs 2008		Date of Written Report:	14th February 2008
Written Report Author:	Dr Jason Lane – Director of Regulatory Services		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: The Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2008
Decision(s): The Minister approves the accompanying draft Order in Council to allow the television licence fee for a basic black and white only TV licence to increase from £45.50 to £47.00, and that for a basic colour TV licence from £135.50 to £139.50. He so authorises the United Kingdom authorities to finalise and make the relevant Regulations.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport sets regulations for television licence fees under authority of the Broadcasting and Communications (Jersey) Order 2004. In the past, the level of licence fees followed a settlement introduced in February 2000 for the years 2000-01 to 2006-07, with annual increases of 1.5% above the level of inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index. This year the increase has been 2.952%. The accompanying report outlines the latest working draft of the relevant Statutory instrument.
Resource Implications: None
Action required: Contact Mike Entwistle, Chief Minister’s Department, for follow-up to the Department for Constitutional Affairs, London. Inform Richard Whitehead, Principal Legal Adviser, Law Officers Department, of the Minister’s approval.
Signature: Senator P.F.C.Ozouf		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2008.

Economic Development Report

The Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

This Order is made in exercise of the Secretary of State’s powers under the Broadcasting and Communications (Jersey) Order 2004, however, the Minister must approve the attached draft Statutory Instrument before it can be introduced by Order in Council and registered in the Royal Court. This process follows the established system of increases in line with inflation.

The Regulations provide, in summary, that the fee for a basic black and white only TV licence is increased from £45.50 to £47.00 and that for a basic colour TV licence from £135.50 to 139.50. Amendments to Schedule 2 reflect the effect of licence fee increases on payment by instalment arrangements Amendments to Schedule 3 deal with fee increases for interim licences. Licence fees for hotels, hospitality areas and mobile units are subject to amendments to Schedule 5.

In view of the urgency of the request, the Minister is recommended to approve the attached draft and to authorise that the final version be laid before Parliament within the prescribed time period.

Dr Jason Lane, Director of Regulatory Services

Economic Development

14 th February 2008

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

2008 No.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

BROADCASTING

The Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

Made - - - - th March 2008

Laid before Parliament th March 2008

Coming into force - - 1st April 2008

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 365(1) and (4), 368 and 402(3) of the Communications Act 2003( 1 ), as extended by the Communications (Jersey) Order 2003( 2 ), the Broadcasting and Communications (Jersey) Order 2004( 3 ), the Communications (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Order 2003( 4 ), the Communications (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Order 2004( 5 ) and the Communications (Isle of Man) Order 2003( 6 ).

To the extent that these Regulations are made under section 365 of the Communications Act 2003, they are made with the consent of the Treasury in accordance with subsection (6) of that section.

Citation, commencement and extent

— These Regulations may be cited as the Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 and come into force on 1st April 2008.
1. These Regulations extend to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Amendment of the 2004 Regulations

The Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004( 7 ) (“the 2004 Regulations”) are amended as set out in Regulations 3 to 12 of these Regulations.

Amendment of Schedule 1

In Schedule 1 (Issue fees for TV licences)—
1. for “£45.50” in each place where it occurs substitute “£47.00”;
2. for “£135.50” in each place where it occurs substitute “£139.50”;

Amendment of Schedule 2

— Schedule 2 (Fees for TV licences payable by instalments) is amended as follows.
1. In paragraph 2(1), for “£35.14” and “£35.12” substitute, respectively, “£36.14” and “£36.12”.
2. In each of paragraphs 5(1) and 6(1), for “2007” substitute “2008”.
3. For table 1 substitute table 1 in the Schedule to these Regulations.
4. For table 2 substitute table 2 in the Schedule to these Regulations.
5. In paragraph 7(6)—
  1. in paragraph (b) for “2007” substitute “2008”; and
  2. for “£79.05” and “£11.29” substitute, respectively, “£81.40” and “£11.62”.
6. For table 3 substitute table 3 in the Schedule to these Regulations.

In paragraph 9—
1. for paragraph (c) substitute—

“(c) the amount of the first 18 of those instalments is to be £5.50 and the amount of each of the remaining 7 instalments is to be £5.00.”

In paragraph 11—
1. in sub-paragraph (1) for “£70.50” substitute “£71.50”;
2. in sub-paragraph (2) for “£57.50” substitute “£58.50”;
3. in sub-paragraph (4) for “£38.00” substitute “£40.00”;
4. in sub-paragraph (5) for “£25.50” substitute “£27.00”.
In paragraph 12(1) for “£70.50” substitute “£71.50”.
In paragraph 13—
1. in sub-paragraph (1) for “£57.50” substitute “£58.50”;
2. for sub-paragraph (2)(a) to (d), substitute—

“(a) sub-paragraph (2)(b) is to have effect as if it provided for each of the 10 instalments to be £8.10.

(b) sub-paragraph (3)(b) is to have effect as if it provided for the first 7 of the instalments to be £10.20, and the remaining instalment to be £9.60.

(d) sub-paragraph (5)(b) is to have effect as if it provided for the amount of each of the 4 instalments to be £20.25.”

In paragraph 14—
1. for sub-paragraph (2)(a) substitute-

“(a) sub-paragraph (2)(b) is to have effect as if it provided for the amount of each of the 10 instalments to be “£9.05”;

in sub-paragraph (2)(b) for “£10.90” and “£10.20” substitute, respectively, “£11.40” and “£10.70”;
in sub-paragraph (2)(c) for “£14.50” and “£14.00” substitute “£15.10” and “£15.00”;
in sub-paragraph (2)(d) for “£21.70” and “£21.40” substitute, respectively, “£22.70” and “£22.40”.

In paragraph 15—
1. in sub-paragraph (1) for “£38.00” substitute “£40.00”;
2. for sub-paragraph (2)(a) substitute—

“(a) sub-paragraph (2)(b) is to have effect as if it provided for the amount of each of the 10 instalments to be £9.95 ”;

in sub-paragraph (2)(b) for “£12.20” and “£12.10” substitute, respectively, “£12.50” and “£12.00”;
in sub-paragraph (2)(c) for “£16.30” and “£16.00” substitute, respectively, “£16.60” and “£16.50”;
in sub-paragraph (2)(d) for “£24.40” and “£24.30” substitute, respectively, “£24.90” and “£24.80” .”.

In paragraph 16—
1. in sub-paragraph (1) for “£25.50” substitute “£27.00”,
2. in sub-paragraph (2)(a) for “£11.00” substitute “£11.25”;
3. in sub-paragraph (2)(b) for “£13.80” and “£13.40” substitute, respectively, “£14.10” and “£13.80”;
4. for sub-paragraph (2)(c) substitute-

“(c) sub-paragraph (2)(c) is to have effect as if it provided for the amount of each of the 6 instalments to be “£18.75” ;

for sub-paragraph (2)(d) substitute-

“sub-paragraph (5)(b) is to have effect as if it provided for the amount of each of the first 3 instalments to be “£28.20” and the final instalment to be “£27.90”.

In paragraph 17—
1. for sub-paragraph (2)(a) substitute—

“(a) sub-paragraph (2)(b) is to have effect as if it provided for the amount of each of the 10 instalments to be £12.95 ”;

in sub-paragraph (2)(b) for “£15.70” and “£15.60” substitute, respectively, “£16.20” and “£16.10”;
in sub-paragraph (2)(c) for “£21.00” and “£20.50” substitute, respectively, “£21.60” and “£21.50”;
in sub-paragraph (2)(d) for “31.40” and £31.50” substitute, respectively, “£32.40” and £32.30”.

Amendment of Schedule 3

In the table in Part 1 of Schedule 3 (Fees for interim TV licences) for “3.791” and “£11.291” substitute, respectively, “£3.916” and “£11.625”.
1. In paragraph 1(5)(b) of Part 2 of that Schedule (Interim TV licence (including colour): payment by instalments) for “£135.50” substitute “£139.50”.

Amendment of Schedule 5

In Schedule 5 (TV licence fees for hotels and hospitality areas, and mobile units)—
1. for “£45.50” in each place where it occurs substitute “£47.00”; and
2. for £135.50” in each place where it occurs substitute “£139.50”.

Saving and transitional provision

In relation to a TV licence issued before 1st April 2008 Schedules 1 to 5 to the 2004 Regulations continue to have effect without the amendments made by these Regulations.

Andy Burnham

Secretary of State

th March 2008 Department for Culture, Media and Sport

We consent to the making of these Regulations to the extent that they are made under section 365 of the Communications Act 2003.

[ ]

th March 2008 Two of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

SCHEDULE Regulation 4(4), (5) and (7)

Table 1

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5	Column 6	Column 7
Date by which instalment is to be paid	Amount of instalment payment
Date on which the licence is issued (“the issue date”)	£79.75	£74.65	£68.45	£60.95	£51.55	£39.45
The last day of the period of 1 month beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.95	£12.97	£14.21	£15.71	£17.59	£20.01
The last day of the period of 2 months beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.95	£12.97	£14.21	£15.71	£17.59	£20.01
The last day of the period of 3 months beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.95	£12.97	£14.21	£15.71	£17.59	£20.01
The last day of the period of 4 months beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.95	£12.97	£14.21	£15.71	£17.59	£20.01
The last day of the period of 5 months beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.95	£12.97	£14.21	£15.71	£17.59	£20.01

Table 2

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5	Column 6	Column 7
Date by which instalment is to be paid	Amount of instalment payment
Date on which the licence is issued (“the issue date”)	£81.40	£76.10	£69.75	£62.00	£52.35	£39.90
The last day of the period of 1 month beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.62	£12.68	£13.95	£15.50	£17.43	£19.92
The last day of the period of 2 months beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.62	£12.68	£13.95	£15.50	£17.43	£19.92
The last day of the period of 3 months beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.62	£12.68	£13.95	£15.50	£17.43	£19.92
The last day of the period of 4 months beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.62	£12.68	£13.95	£15.50	£17.43	£19.92
The last day of the period of 5 months beginning on the day immediately following the issue date	£11.62	£12.68	£13.95	£15.50	£17.43	£19.92

Table 3

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
Date by which instalment is to be paid	Amount of instalment payment
Date on which the licence is issued	£23.25	£27.90	£34.89	£46.50
The first day of the calendar month immediately following the calendar month in which the licence is issued	£23.25	£27.90	£34.87	£46.50
The first day of the second calendar month following the calendar month in which the licence is issued	£23.25	£27.90	£34.87	£46.50
The first day of the third calendar month following the calendar month in which the licence is issued	£23.25	£27.90	£34.87
The first day of the fourth calendar month following the calendar month in which the licence is issued	£23.25	£27.90
The first day of the fifth calendar month following the calendar month in which the licence is issued	£23.25

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/692) (“the 2004 Regulations”).

Licence fee increases

Regulations 3, 4, 5 and 6 provide for increases in the sums provided to be paid for different categories of licences set out in the 2004 Regulations, and in the sums payable by way of instalments under instalment schemes set out in those Regulations.

In summary—

the fee for a basic black and white only TV licence is increased from £45.50 to £47.00, and that for a basic colour TV licence from £135.50 to £139.50;
the issue fee and subsequent instalments for the premium instalment licence (not available in the Channel Islands) are raised to £36.14 and £36.12 respectively, the total payable rising from £140.50 to £144.50;
amendments are made in relation to the instalments payable for the budget instalment licence and easy entrance licence (which is not available in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man) so that in every case the total amount payable is raised from £135.50 to £139.50;
the provisions relating to the interim TV licence (which is not available in the Channel Islands except in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, excluding Sark) are amended to raise the fee payable in respect of each month, or part of a month, from £3.791 to £3.916 in the case of a black and white only TV licence and from £11.291 to £11.625 in the case of a colour TV licence; and
the provisions relating to TV licence fees for hotels, hospitality areas and mobile units are amended to reflect the rise in the fees payable for basic black and white only and colour TV licences to £47.00 and £139.50 respectively.

(1) 2003 c. 21.

(2) S.I. 2003/3197. Article 6 of the Order extends section 402 of the Communications Act 2003 to Jersey. There are amendments to the Order not relevant to these Regulations.

(3) S.I. 2004/308. Article 4 of the Order extends sections 365 and 368 of the 2003 Act to Jersey.

(4) S.I. 2003/3195. Article 6 of the Order extends section 402 of the 2003 Act to Guernsey. There are amendments to the Order not relevant to these Regulations.

(5) S.I. 2004/307. Article 4 of the Order extends sections 365 and 368 of the 2003 Act to Guernsey.

(6) S.I. 2003/3198, amended by S.I. 2004/309. Article 6 of the Order extends, with modifications, sections 365, 368 and 402 of the 2003 Act to the Isle of Man. There are amendments to the Order not relevant to these Regulations.

(7) S.I. 2004/692, amended by S.I. 2005/606 and S.I. 2006/619