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BBC DG Lord Hall has written a long piece for The House Magazine, in defence of both the status quo and change.

It's worth re-printing the bit about decriminalisation of licence-fee non-payment, because there's just two weeks for all of us to contribute to the Government's consultation.

"There is a myth that the current system clogs up the courtrooms. In reality, the Perry review found that non-payment cases accounted for 0.3% of court time.

"Nor can you be jailed for not paying the licence fee; you can only be fined. It is only later, as a last resort if people wilfully refuse or neglect to obey court orders – often to pay many fines, including the TV Licence – that judges might impose a custodial sentence. Even then it’s rare: it happened to five people in England and Wales in 2018.

"The Perry review highlighted that, under any alternative civil system, evasion would go up, more people could be penalised, and the poorest in society could be hit hardest with higher fines. And it would impact people’s credit ratings.

"The review also found that the cost to the BBC was likely to be hundreds of millions of pounds, making licence fee payers the ultimate losers. It highlights the fact that, if the current system were to change, it must be done in a way that protects the public’s much-loved services. A decision of this scale – taking hundreds of millions not just out of the BBC but out of the UK’s creative economy – must not be taken lightly."