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Equality

Equality and TV Licensing

TV Licensing is committed to equality and diversity and is engaged in ongoing work to improve the quality and accessibility of the service for its customers, in line with the public sector equality duties outlined below.

Our work in this area is aligned with the objectives set out in the BBC’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2023 and is managed under the governance of the TV Licensing Equality Forum and other working groups.

We aim to address the individual requirements of all our customers. We also have a number of provisions to make it easier for customers to contact us and manage their TV Licence, such as information in different languages and alternative formats.  Further information on assistance available can be found on our Accessibility page.

The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 consolidated various pieces of legislation including:

  • the Race Relations Act 1976
  • the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
  • the Sex Discrimination Act 1975

There are 9 protected characteristics covered by the Act. These are:

1. Age
2. Disability
3. Gender reassignment
4. Marriage and civil partnership
5. Pregnancy and maternity
6. Race
7. Religion or belief
8. Sex
9. Sexual orientation.

The Equality Act places a statutory duty on public authorities in how they exercise their functions. This requires organisations to have ’due regard’ to the need to:

  • Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act
  • Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
  • Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

Gender Disparity review

More women than men are prosecuted for TV Licence fee evasion. A Government review in 2015 found that the BBC was not operating a discriminatory policy but recommended that it look at the issue in more detail. As a result, the BBC undertook an in-depth review in 2017 and found that underlying societal factors drive this disparity. Changes were subsequently made to TV Licensing processes in an attempt to reduce it.

The BBC committed to undertaking a second review, published in 2023, to better understand why the disparity still exists as well as looking at how TVL operates and whether improvements could be made. As part of that review, it published a 10-point action plan and provided an update on progress in 2024.


2024 Gender Disparity 10-Point Action Plan Update (PDF 191 Kb opens in a new window)


2023 Gender Disparity Report (BBC Reports opens in a new window)


2017 Gender Disparity Report (PDF 453 Kb opens in a new window)

General information about TV Licensing is available in other languages:

© 2024 TV Licensing