§ Mr. O'HaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people were(a) prosecuted 52W and (b) threatened with prosecution for failing to have a television licence in 1998 broken down by those aged (i) under 25, (ii) 25 to 39, (iii) 40 to 59 and (iv) 60 years and over. [71407]
§ Janet AndersonProsecutions for television licence fee evasion are not recorded separately from other offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts of 1949 and 1967, though the great majority of offences under these Acts relate to licence fee evasion. The number of prosecutions in England, Scotland and Wales in 1997, the most recent year for which information is available, was 92,749. The age breakdown (where a person's age is not known, it is recorded automatically as 25) was as follows:
Age Number Under 25 9,138 25 to 39 76,125 40 to 59 6,948 60 and over 538 The most recent available figures for Northern Ireland are for the financial year 1996–97, when there were a total of 11,301 prosecutions, but no age breakdown is available.
In 1997, TV licensing took 315,621 prosecution statements.