§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2001,Official Report, column 133W, on television licences, how many prosecutions for licence evasion were brought in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) England in each of the last four years; and what action is being taken to reduce the evasion rate in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. [151448]
§ Janet AndersonFigures for England and Wales cannot readily be disaggregated because, in border areas, courts in Wales may try cases where the defendant's address is in England and vice versa. The number of prosecutions in each of the last four years was:
Northern Ireland Scotland England and Wales 1997–98 2,966 2,120 94,714 1998–99 2,495 499 94,566 1999–2000 2,107 992 86,133 2000–011 2,363 3,733 123,755 1 Year to date Statutory responsibility for the administration and enforcement of the television licensing system rests with the BBC. The BBC and its agent, TV Licensing, have adopted a range of measures to reduce evasion, including advertisements, correspondence and occasional telephone reminders to remind people of the television licensing requirements, followed up if necessary by visits from TV Licensing inquiry officers.