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Written question asked by Sandra Gidley (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 29 January 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 2 February 2009. It was answered by Maria Eagle (Labour) on Monday, 9 February 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Television: Licensing

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in (a) the ceremonial county of Hampshire, (b) Test Valley borough and (c) the City of Southampton were prosecuted for not having a television licence in each of the last five years.
Answer

Information on the number of persons proceeded against for television licence evasion in the Hampshire police force area from 2003 to 2007 (latest available), is in the following table.From information held centrally, it is not possible to provide borough or city level data.These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.

Number of persons proceeded against for television licence evasion in Hampshire police force area, 2003-07¹, ², ³
Number
2003 1,891
2004 1,889
2005 2,520
2006 2,269
2007 2,269
¹ The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
² Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
³ The TV licensing provisions of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 were replaced by new provisions in section 363 of the Communications Act 2003 which came into effect 1 April 2004.
Source:
Evidence and Analysis Unit, Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
487 c1548-9W; 254017
Session
2008-09
Subjects
Hampshire Television licences
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk