Leader of the Labour group at Swindon Borough Council, Jim Grant, will ask the Conservative administration to demand that the government continues to fund free television licences for the over 75s.

Coun Grant has lodged a motion to be drafted and voted on at the full council meeting next Thursday, in the wake of the announcement by the BBC - which was given the responsibility to fund the free licences - that it would only be doing so for poorer pensioners after June 2020.

Coun Grant’s motion says: “Free TV licences for the over 75s will no longer be a universal benefit, with most people of that age no longer qualifying for this concession. TV licences have benefits for many older people in staving off isolation and loneliness, key areas the council are looking to reduce within the borough.

“The Conservative party promised to maintain free TV licences for the duration of this Parliament in their 2017 general election manifesto.

"This council calls on the government to honour the Conservative Party’s 2017 manifesto promise to maintain free TV licences for the over-75s for the duration of this parliament by ensuring sufficient funding to do so and, should the BBC propose changes to the concession, to ensure that the proposed changes are subject to parliamentary consent."