§ LORD NAPIER AND ETTRICKasked Her Majesty's Government—
- (a) to state the annual revenue received over the past three years from the sale of wireless licences throughout the United Kingdom in respect of—
- (i) household receivers;
- (ii) motor car receivers;
- (iii) television sets;
932 - (b) whether they are satisfied that all sets in use to-day are covered by the issue of a licence; and, if not, whether they will consider introducing legislation to prohibit the sale of wireless and television sets without prior production of a licence.
LORD ST. OSWALD(a) The annual revenue from wireless licences for the last three years is tabulated below:—
Revenue Financial Year (i) Domestic radio sets (ii) Radio sets in cars (iii) Television sets (excluding £1 Excise Duty) £ £ £ 1958–59 5,083,000 376,000 27,886,000 1959–60 4,066,500 427,500 31,726,000 1960–61 3,366,000 474,500 34,020,000 (b) Although there is undoubtedly some wireless-licence evasion, it is kept in reasonable check by extensive publicity, special local inquiries, and the use of television detector vans.
To prohibit the sale of sets without the production of a licence would involve legislation to oblige dealers to act as agents for the Post Office, and would mean changing fundamentally the present basis of the licensing system, under which a licence is needed not to own a wireless set, but to install and use it, and one licence can cover several sets in the same household. My right honourable friend will examine the present licensing system in the light of any recommendations the Pilkington Committee may make on the subject, and meanwhile he proposes to retain it as it is.
House adjourned at eighteen minutes past nine o'clock.