CULTURE Secretary Sajid Javid is to question whether TV licence fee enforcement is working and announce a review of the system, which will pave the way for decriminalising non-payment.
The minister will tell the Royal Television Society (RTS) today the Government is "committed" to changing the system.
He will say: "In 2012/13, almost 200,000 people ended up in court accused of not buying a TV licence.
"More than 50 were sent to prison. When over 10 per cent of magistrates' court cases concern this one offence, you have to ask whether the current system is really working. So that's exactly what I'm going to do.
"The Government is committed to launching a review of decriminalisation once the Deregulation Bill receives Royal Assent. But we can't afford to wait. This needs to begin now.
"Shortly I will be publishing the terms of reference for a review of TV licence enforcement. I expect it to begin taking evidence in the autumn, and conclude early in the next Parliament.
"I don't want to pre-empt the Charter Review. I want to ensure that, when it begins, it has a solid evidence base on which to draw. This will allow it to shape the future of the BBC in a way that works for the Corporation and those who pay for it."
Decriminalisation has been backed by both Conservatives and Labour, although Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has struck a cautious note, highlighting BBC concerns that anything that encouraged evasion could reduce the broadcaster's income and lead to services being axed.
The BBC's director of strategy and digital, James Purnell, has questioned some of the arguments presented by those pushing for the change - suggesting the impact on court time was far less than supposed.
"One of the 'facts' that has been used is that this is taking up 10 per cent of court cases. We think it may turn out that the time is much less than that," he told BBC Radio 4's PM. "The last fact we saw was that it took up 0.3 per cent, about three minutes on average."
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