91-536: Directgov was the British government 's digital service portal which from 2004 provided a single point of access to public sector information and services. The site's portal was replaced (along with the Business Link portal) by the new GOV.UK website on 17 October 2012, although migration of all services to GOV.UK branding took several years. The content was developed by government departments, working with
182-410: A hypothecated tax to fund public broadcasting . Radio broadcasters in the early 20th century needed to raise funds for their services. In some countries, this was achieved via advertising, while others adopted a compulsory subscription model with households that owned a radio set being required to purchase a licence. The United Kingdom was the first country to adopt compulsory public subscription with
273-538: A machinery of government change. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2009 Directgov reported traffic statistics of circa 20 million hits a month from over 8 million unique users. A national TV and radio advertising campaign was launched in January 2010 featuring a number of celebrities including Suggs , Honor Blackman and Kelly Brook . On 20 July 2010, Directgov was moved back to the Cabinet Office from
364-743: A central Directgov team. The main outlet was the website, though content and services were also delivered via mobile. Directgov received more than fifteen million visits a month in 2008, from around eight million unique users. In September 2007, the site received its one hundred millionth visitor since its launch in April 2004. Directgov was launched in April 2004, replacing the Ukonline portal. Rather than just providing links to government departments as UKonline had done, Directgov carried its own material, designed around users' needs. The first three sections were for motorists, disabled people and parents. By 2006
455-540: A custom Twitter widget . This strategic partnership was extended to cover the Comprehensive Spending Review on 20 October 2010. Directgov ceased hosting documents for the Budget from 23 March 2011, with HM Treasury becoming the sole government host. Directgov focused instead on providing information for the public on how the Budget could affect them. A separate website branded as DirectgovKids
546-566: A few still have separate radio licences. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, have lower fees for households that only own monochrome television sets. In many countries, elderly and disabled consumers have a reduced or zero licence fee. Faced with licence fee evasion, some countries chose to fund public broadcasters directly from taxation or via methods such as a co-payment with electricity billing. In some countries, national public broadcasters carry advertising. In 1989,
637-574: A greater or lesser degree (for instance Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster or Lord Privy Seal ). The government is sometimes referred to by the metonym " Westminster " or " Whitehall ", as many of its offices are situated there. These metonyms are used especially by members of the Scottish Government , Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to differentiate their government from His Majesty's Government. The United Kingdom
728-488: A household tax that every household pays. It is €15.30 per month. In the federal states of Burgenland, Carinthia, Styria and Tyrol, an additional state tax must be paid - this amounts to between €3.10 and €4.70 per month. The licence fee in Bosnia and Herzegovina is approximately €46 per year. The Bosnian War and associated collapse of infrastructure caused very high evasion rates. This has partly been resolved by collecting
819-685: A library book. Direct links to each type of service were collected from every local authority through the Local Directgov programme. In a strategic partnership with HM Treasury and the BBC , Directgov hosted the Budget Day documents in March 2010 and June 2010. On Budget Day Directgov also provided real time updates from the Chancellor's speech on Twitter with the account @Directgov and using
910-660: A licence may now increase to account for inflation. As of April 2024, the licence fee is £169.50 for a colour and £57 for a black and white television Licence As it is classified in law as a tax, evasion of licence fees is a criminal offence. 204,018 people were prosecuted or fined in 2014 for TV licence offences: 173,044 in England, 12,536 in Wales, 4,905 people in Northern Ireland and 15 in the Isle of Man. The licence fee
1001-474: A licence, originally known as a wireless licence , used to fund the BBC . In most countries that introduced radio licensing, possession of a licence was simply an indication of having paid the fee. However in Canada, between 1914 and 1922 people needed to pass an "Amateur Experimental Certificate of Proficiency", demonstrating the ability to send and receive Morse code at five words per minute, to be allowed to use
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#17327660539131092-413: A limit of only one commercial during short breaks and no breaks during films. This is less than the limit permitted for commercial broadcasters. The licence fee is charged to all owners of equipment capable of receiving television or radio broadcasts. It is set at 1.5 per cent of the previous year's average net salary, which is €137 per year per household with at least one radio or television receiver. It
1183-482: A member of either House of Parliament. In practice, however, the convention is that ministers must be members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords to be accountable to Parliament. From time to time, prime ministers appoint non-parliamentarians as ministers. In recent years such ministers have been appointed to the House of Lords. The government is required by convention and for practical reasons to maintain
1274-412: A new House of Commons, unless the prime minister advises the monarch to dissolve Parliament , in which case an election may be held sooner. After an election, the monarch selects as prime minister the leader of the party most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons, usually by possessing a majority of MPs. Under the uncodified British constitution , executive authority lies with
1365-402: A radio receiver. With the arrival of television, some countries created separate television licences. Other countries increased radio licence fees to cover the additional cost of television broadcasting, changing the name from "radio licence" to "TV licence" or "receiver licence". Today, most countries fund public radio broadcasting from the same licence fee that is used for television, although
1456-604: A substantial grant from the government, the Sovereign Support Grant , and Queen Elizabeth II's inheritance from her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , was exempt from inheritance tax . In addition to legislative powers, His Majesty's Government has substantial influence over local authorities and other bodies set up by it, through financial powers and grants. Many functions carried out by local authorities, such as paying out housing benefits and council tax benefits, are funded or substantially part-funded by
1547-640: A transitional period. Each household that owns at least one television pays for one licence, regardless of how many televisions they own. Corporations and the self-employed must pay for a licence for each television and radio. The licence fee in Germany is €18.36 per month (€220 per annum) for all apartments, secondary residences, holiday homes and summer houses. Since 2003 it has been payable regardless of possession or use of television and radio. Businesses and institutions must pay, based on factors including numbers of employees, vehicles and, for hotels, beds. The fee
1638-456: A very broad Internet presence with media portals, news and TV programs. National broadcasters abandoned an earlier pledge to restrict their online activities. This resulted in newspapers taking court action against the ARD, claiming that its Tagessschau smartphone app was unfairly subsidised by the licence fee, to the detriment of free-market providers of news content apps. The case was dismissed with
1729-427: Is 8.70 zł per month. One licence is required per household, irrespective of the number of sets. The fee is waived for people over 75. Public health institutions, nurseries, educational institutions, hospices and retirement homes need only one licence per building or building complex they occupy. Commercial premises need a licence for each set, including radios and televisions in company vehicles. Around 60 per cent of
1820-424: Is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning monarch (that is, the king or queen who is the head of state at any given time) does not make any open political decisions. All political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament. This constitutional state of affairs is the result of a long history of constraining and reducing the political power of the monarch, beginning with Magna Carta in 1215. Since
1911-435: Is billed monthly but typically paid quarterly or yearly. It is collected by Beitragsservice von ARD, ZDF und Deutschlandradio which is sometimes criticized for its enforcement measures. Since 2013, only recipients of certain social benefits such as Arbeitslosengeld II or student loans and grants are exempt from the licence fee. People with certain disabilities can apply to pay a reduced fee of €5.83. Low income, in general,
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#17327660539132002-652: Is no longer a reason for exemption. Since the fee is billed to a person and not to a dwelling, empty dwellings are exempt. The licence fee is used to fund the public broadcasters ZDF and Deutschlandradio , as well as the nine regional broadcasters of the ARD network. Together, they run 22 television channels (10 regional, 10 national, 2 international: Arte and 3sat ) and 61 radio stations (58 regional, 3 national). Two national television stations and 32 regional radio stations carry limited advertising. The 14 regional regulatory authorities for private broadcasters are also funded by
2093-603: Is not vital. A government is not required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the responsible house . The prime minister is held to account during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject. There are also departmental questions when ministers answer questions relating to their specific departmental brief. Unlike PMQs, both
2184-511: Is paid to the state broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT). In June 2013, ERT was closed down to save money for the Greek government and licence fees were temporarily suspended. In June 2015, ERT reopened and the licence fee resumed at a rate of €36 per year. As of 2020, the cost of a television licence in Ireland is €160 per year. The licence applies to premises so a separate licence
2275-484: Is rare in the Americas, largely confined to British Overseas Territories . In some countries, radio channels and broadcasters' websites are also funded by a licence, giving access to radio and online services free of advertising. The Albanian licence fee is 100 lekë per month, paid as part of the electricity bill. This makes up part of RTSH 's funding: 58 per cent comes directly from the government through taxes with
2366-455: Is required for each household where television programmes are watched or recorded as they are broadcast, irrespective of the signal method (terrestrial, satellite, cable or the Internet). As of September 2016, users of BBC iPlayer must also have a television licence to watch on-demand television content from the service. As of 1 April 2017, after a price freeze that began in 2010, the cost of
2457-439: Is required for holiday homes or motor vehicles which contain a television. The licence must be paid for premises that have any equipment that can potentially decode TV signals, regardless of whether they view RTÉ's content. The licence is free to anyone over the age of 70, to some people over 66, to people on a disability allowance, and people who are blind (these licences are paid for by the state). The Irish post office, An Post ,
2548-489: Is required to pay a broadcasting subscription fee. The monthly fee is €3.50, or €42.00 per annum. Funds are distributed, The Broadcasting Agency of Montenegro collected the fee through telephone bills, but after the privatization of Telekom , the new owners, T-com, announced they would not administer the fee after July 2007. As of 2023, the licence fee in Poland for a television set is 27.30 zł per month, or for radio only
2639-406: Is responsible for the collection of the licence fee and commencement of prosecution proceedings in cases of non-payment, but An Post has signalled its intention to withdraw from its licence fee business. The licence fee makes up 50 per cent of the revenue of RTÉ , the national broadcaster with the rest coming from radio and television advertisements. Some RTÉ services have not historically relied on
2730-649: Is the main source of revenue for the national broadcaster Hrvatska Radiotelevizija (HRT) , and a secondary source of income for other national and local broadcasters, which receive a minority share. Within HRT, 66 per cent of the licence fee income goes to television and 34 per cent to radio. The licence fee in the Czech Republic is 135 Kč per month for television and 45 Kč per month for radio, amounting to 2160 Kč per year. Paid advertisements are not permitted on television except in narrowly defined circumstances during
2821-459: Is used almost entirely to fund BBC domestic radio, television and internet services. Money received from the licence represents approximately 75 per cent of the cost of these services, with most of the remainder coming from the profits of BBC Studios , a commercial arm of the corporation which distributes content outside of the United Kingdom, and operates or licences BBC-branded television services and brands. The BBC also receives some funding from
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2912-939: Is used to fund the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation . The licence fee in South Africa is R 265 (about €23) per annum (R312 per year if paid on a monthly basis) for television. A concessionary rate of R70 is available for those over 70, disabled persons and war veterans who are on social welfare. The licence fee partially funds the public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), providing R972 million (almost €90 million) in 2008–9. SABC derives much of its income from advertising. Proposals to abolish licensing have circulated since October 2009. The national carrier hopes to receive funding entirely from state subsidies and commercials. In Japan,
3003-875: The Council of Europe created the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. Among other things, this regulates advertising. The treaty came into force in 1993 when it had been ratified by seven countries, including five EU member states . As of 2010 , 34 countries have acceded to the treaty. Usage and costs of television licences vary greatly between countries. The Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago reports that two-thirds of countries in Europe and half of countries in Asia and Africa use television licences to fund public television. Television licensing
3094-806: The Department for Work and Pensions . On 1 April 2011 Directgov became part of the Government Digital Service , overseen by the Public Expenditure Executive (Efficiency & Reform) which was co-chaired by Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander . On 13 September 2012, through a notice on the Directgov homepage, it was announced that
3185-631: The GOV.UK project, built by the Government Digital Service , would replace Directgov as the primary website of the UK government on 17 October 2012. The Directgov portal was closed and redirected to the new website from that date. Services provided by Directgov were not fully replaced for a number of years: for example, in 2018 the Universal Jobmatch service and the blue badge application form were still provided from direct.gov.uk webpages. The website
3276-483: The Greater London Authority disputed. Similarly, the monarch is immune from criminal prosecution and may only be sued with his permission (this is known as sovereign immunity ). The sovereign, by law, is not required to pay income tax, but Queen Elizabeth II voluntarily paid it from 1993 until the end of her reign in 2022, and also paid local rates voluntarily. However, the monarchy also received
3367-662: The Scottish Government via MG Alba to finance the BBC Alba Gaelic-language television service in Scotland. The BBC used to receive a direct government grant from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to fund television and radio services broadcast to other countries, such as the BBC World Service radio and BBC Arabic Television . These services run on a non-profit, non-commercial basis. The grant
3458-474: The Swiss national public broadcaster SRG SSR must be registered and pay licence fees. The fee is CHF 335 per year for TV and radio for single households, and CHF 670 for multiple households, e.g. nursing homes . Households unable to receive broadcast transmissions are exempt from the fees until 2023 if residents apply to opt out. Residential licence fees are collected by Serafe AG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
3549-520: The public radios stations have no commercial advertising. RTP3 and RTP Memória can broadcast commercial advertising on cable, satellite and IPTV platforms but not on digital terrestrial television. Licence fees in Serbia are bundled together with electricity bills and collected monthly. There have been increasing indications that the Government of Serbia is considering the temporary cessation of
3640-501: The "Taxa de Contribuição Audiovisual" (Portuguese for Broadcasting Contribution Tax ), charged monthly through the electricity bills. Following the 2010–2014 Portuguese financial crisis , government grants ended and RTP was financed only through the "Taxa de Contribuição Audiovisual" and advertising. Since July 2016, the fee is €2.85 + VAT per month. RTP1 can broadcast only 6 minutes of commercial advertising per hour (commercial channels can broadcast 12 minutes per hour). RTP2 and
3731-648: The Austrian public broadcaster, ( ORF ) and an agency of the Federal Ministry of Finance . GIS aims to inform people about licensing, using a four-channel communication strategy consisting of: In 2007 the total licensing income was €682 million, 66 per cent of which was allocated to the ORF. The remaining 34 per cent was allocated to the federal government and local governments to fund cultural activities. GIS employs 191 people and has approximately 125 freelancers in
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3822-461: The BBC. These other broadcasters are much smaller than the BBC. In addition to public broadcasters, the United Kingdom has a wide range of commercial television funded by advertising and subscription. A television licence is still required of viewers who solely watch such commercial channels, although 74.9 per cent of the population watches BBC One in any given week, making it the most popular channel in
3913-511: The Crown, who may use them without having to obtain the consent of Parliament. The prime minister also has weekly meetings with the monarch. What is said in these meetings is strictly private; however, they generally involve government and political matters which the monarch has a "right and a duty" to comment on. Such comments are non-binding however and the King must ultimately abide by decisions of
4004-621: The European Parliament are immune from prosecution in EU states under any circumstance. As a consequence, neither EU bodies nor diplomats have to pay taxes, since it would not be possible to prosecute them for tax evasion. When the UK was a member of the EU, this caused a dispute when the US ambassador to the UK claimed that London's congestion charge was a tax, and not a charge (despite the name), and therefore he did not have to pay it—a claim
4095-516: The United Kingdom , officially His Majesty's Government , abbreviated to HM Government , is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . The government is led by the prime minister (currently Keir Starmer since 5 July 2024) who selects all the other ministers . The country has had a Labour government since 2024. The prime minister Keir Starmer and his most senior ministers belong to
4186-531: The annual licence fee ( Japanese : 受信料 , jushin-ryo ) for terrestrial television broadcasts is ¥ 14,205, and ¥24,740 for those receiving satellite broadcasts. The fee is slightly less if paid by direct debit . There is a separate licence for monochrome TV, and fees are slightly less in Okinawa . The Japanese licence fee pays for the national broadcaster, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) . Every household in Japan with
4277-440: The cabinet ministers for the department and junior ministers within the department may answer on behalf of the government, depending on the topic of the question. During debates on legislation proposed by the government, ministers—usually with departmental responsibility for the bill —will lead the debate for the government and respond to points made by MPs or Lords. Committees of both the House of Commons and House of Lords hold
4368-442: The central government. Television licence A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts or the possession of a television set . In some countries, a licence is also required to own a radio or receive radio broadcasts . In such countries, some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence fees. Licence fees are effectively
4459-411: The charity commissions) are legally more or less independent of the government, and government powers are legally limited to those retained by the Crown under common law or granted and limited by act of Parliament. Both substantive and procedural limitations are enforceable in the courts by judicial review . Nevertheless, magistrates and mayors can still be arrested and put on trial for corruption, and
4550-696: The citizen in a way that they understand. If you do a Google search you will get the information from a number of places and the citizen has to do the linking up for themself. Her Majesty%27s Government King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The government of
4641-436: The confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of Commons for the maintenance of supply (by voting through the government's budgets) and to pass primary legislation . By convention, if a government loses the confidence of the House of Commons it must either resign or a general election is held. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in getting its legislation passed without delay,
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#17327660539134732-632: The country. A similar licence existed for radio but was abolished in 1971. The licence fee in Ghana was reintroduced in 2015, and is used to fund the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). Households have to pay between GH¢36 and GH¢60 per year for using one or more televisions at home. The licence fee in Mauritius is Rs 1,800 per year (around €29), collected as part of the electricity bill. The fee provides 60 per cent of
4823-515: The court advising the two sides to find a compromise. The licence fee in Greece is paid through electricity bills. It is charged to every electricity account, including private residences and businesses. There has been discussion of replacing it with a direct licence fee after complaints from people who do not own a television set. An often-quoted joke is that even the dead pay the licence fee, since graveyards have electricity bills. Licensing income
4914-474: The data from the comments feature for use in customer insight and product improvement, and published an overview of monthly ratings online. In 2005, several internet activists affiliated with mySociety wrote Directionlessgov.com to demonstrate that they could build something better in under an hour, by using a simple web page that linked to the Google search engine. Directionlessgov was later upgraded to compare
5005-458: The disabled community. Directgov was active on Twitter , Facebook and YouTube . In April 2010 Directgov launched a "Comment on this Article" feature on each page allowing users to give articles one of five ratings ranging from "Very useful" to "Not at all useful". Users could also leave comments of up to 500 characters about how a page could be improved, but were asked not to include any personally identifiable information . Directgov collected
5096-409: The exchequer to be a member of the House of Lords was Lord Denman , who served for one month in 1834. The British monarch is the head of state and the sovereign , but not the head of government . The monarch takes little direct part in governing the country and remains neutral in political affairs. However, the authority of the state that is vested in the sovereign, known as the Crown , remains
5187-510: The fee goes to Telewizja Polska with the rest going to Polskie Radio . Advertisements are allowed between programmes on public television but it is not permitted to interrupt its programmes for advertisements. The licence is collected and maintained by the Polish post office, Poczta Polska . There is a major problem with licence evasion in Poland: in 2012 around 65 per cent of households evaded
5278-601: The fee was €90.00. Sixty-six per cent of RAI 's income comes from the licence fee (up from about half of total income seven years ago), with another twenty-five per cent from advertising, which is aired pretty regularly every 20 minutes or so, with very few exceptions (football matches, special events, Eurovision Song Contest) Under the Broadcasting Law of December 2002, each household and legal entity in Montenegro able to receive radio or television programmes
5369-489: The field service. 3.4 million Austrian households are registered with the GIS with 2.5 per cent evading the licence. The television & radio licence fee varies between states . As of 2022, Styria has the highest annual television licence cost, at €343.80, and Salzburg and Burgenland have the highest annual radio licence cost, at €94.92. Annual fees from July 2022 are: Since 2024, the broadcasting fee has been replaced by
5460-532: The government has powers to insert commissioners into a local authority to oversee its work, and to issue directives that must be obeyed by the local authority if the local authority is not abiding by its statutory obligations. By contrast, as in European Union (EU) member states, EU officials cannot be prosecuted for any actions carried out in pursuit of their official duties, and foreign country diplomats (though not their employees) and foreign members of
5551-766: The government on the statement. When the government instead chooses to make announcements first outside Parliament, it is often the subject of significant criticism from MPs and the speaker of the House of Commons . The prime minister is based at 10 Downing Street in Westminster , London. Cabinet meetings also take place here. Most government departments have their headquarters nearby in Whitehall . The government's powers include general executive and statutory powers , delegated legislation , and numerous powers of appointment and patronage. However, some powerful officials and bodies, (e.g. HM judges, local authorities , and
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#17327660539135642-485: The government to account, scrutinise its work and examine in detail proposals for legislation. Ministers appear before committees to give evidence and answer questions. Government ministers are also required by convention and the Ministerial Code , when Parliament is sitting, to make major statements regarding government policy or issues of national importance to Parliament. This allows MPs or Lords to question
5733-519: The government. Royal prerogative powers include, but are not limited to, the following: While no formal documents set out the prerogatives, the government published the above list in October 2003 to increase transparency, as some of the powers exercised in the name of the monarch are part of the royal prerogative . However, the complete extent of the royal prerogative powers has never been fully set out, as many of them originated in ancient custom and
5824-473: The income for Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). Most of the remaining funds come from television and radio commercials. The introduction of private broadcasting in 2002 has put pressure on MBC's commercial revenues. Private stations argue that MBC affects their profitability and they want the government to make MBC commercial-free. The licence fee in Namibia was N$ 204 (about €23) in 2001. The fee
5915-505: The insurance collections agency Secon. Non-payment of licence fees incurs fines of up to CHF 100,000. For businesses, the fee is on a scale based on the company's annual turnover and is collected by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration. The majority of the fee, CHF 1.2 billion, goes to SRG SSR, with the rest going to a collection of small regional radio and television broadcasters. On 4 March 2018, there
6006-433: The licence fee (compared to an average of 10 per cent in the European Union ), and in 2020, only 8 per cent of Polish households paid the licence fee. Reasons for non-payment include the opt-in system in which there is no effective means to compel people to register or to prosecute those that fail to do so. Licensing inspectors, who are usually postal workers , do not have the right of entry to inspect premises and must get
6097-635: The licence fee as part of each household's monthly telephone bill. The licence fee is divided between three broadcasters: The licence fee in Croatia is regulated by the Croatian Radiotelevision Act, 2003. This law was written to ensure compliance with the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, which Croatia joined between 1999 and 2002. In addition to the licensing, the law regulates television advertising. Up to 9 per cent of air time on HRT may be given to advertising, with
6188-458: The licence fee until a more effective financing solution is found. However, as of 28 August 2013 this has yet to be realized. Since June 2013, the annual licence fee in Slovenia is €12.75 per household per month to receive both television and radio services, or €3.77 per month for radio only, regardless of the number of devices capable of receiving television or radio broadcasts. Businesses and
6279-557: The licence fee, and in some states, non-profit community radio stations get small amounts of the licence fee. Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle , is fully funded by the German federal government, though much of its new content is provided by the ARD. Germany's per capita budget for public broadcasting is close to the European average but the total is one of the largest in the world. In 2006, annual income from licence fees
6370-539: The licence for income, such as RTÉ 2fm , RTÉ Aertel , RTÉ.ie but since 2012 RTÉ 2FM has had some financial support from the licence. The RTÉ Transmission Network operates on an entirely commercial basis. Five per cent of the licence fee goes to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland 's "Sound and Vision Scheme", which provides funds for programme production and restoration of archive material. From 2011 until 2018, five per cent of RTÉ's licence income
6461-464: The owner's or occupier's permission to enter. Also, the public media are frequently accused of producing pro-government propaganda and not being independent public broadcasters. Due to widespread non-payment of the licence fee, in 2020 the government gave a 2 billion złoty grant for public media. From September 2003, the Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) was financed through government grants and
6552-433: The period of absolute monarchy , or were modified by later constitutional practice. As of 2019, there are around 120 government ministers supported by 560,000 civil servants and other staff working in the 24 ministerial departments and their executive agencies . There are also an additional 20 non-ministerial departments with a range of further responsibilities. In theory, a government minister does not have to be
6643-413: The producer or importer of the television receiving equipment. Consumers indirectly pay this fee when purchasing equipment. No registration is required for television receiving equipment, except for cellular phones as mandated by a separate law. TRT also receives funding via advertisements. Previously a 2 per cent tax was added to monthly electricity bills but this has been abolished. A television licence
6734-476: The remainder from commercials and the licence fee. Under Austria 's TV and Radio Licence Law ( Fernseh- und Hörfunklizenzrecht ), all operational broadcast reception equipment must be registered. Since 1998, the Gebühren Info Service [ de ] (GIS) has been responsible for licence administration. GIS was renamed to ORF-Beitragsservice (OBS) in 2024. It is a fully-owned subsidiary of
6825-528: The results of Directgov's own search engine with the Google results side by side. In discussion, one of the authors wrote: To me the [point we are] making is not that direct.gov should be licensing Google's search... it is that direct.gov should not exist at all - in practice everybody types what they want to do into Google. With the budget saved... instead optimise text and titles on government websites i.e. do some Search Engine Optimisation. Run user tests to find
6916-476: The self-employed pay this amount for each set, and pay higher rates where they are intended for public viewing rather than private use by employees. The licence fee is used to fund the national broadcaster RTV Slovenija . In 2007, the licence fee raised €78.1 million, approximately 68 per cent of the broadcaster's operating revenue. RTV Slovenija's advertising income in 2007 was €21.6 million. Any household that receives radio or television programs from
7007-884: The site had over ten million visits per month, and involved 18 government departments. In April 2006, Directgov moved from the e-Government Unit (eGU) within the Cabinet Office to become part of the Central Office of Information (COI), an executive agency of the Cabinet Office. As part of the Transformational Government strategy, an annual report was published in January 2007 stating that hundreds of government websites would be shut down "to make access to information easier" for people. In future, most government information would be streamlined through two main "supersites" – either Directgov (for citizens) or Businesslink.gov.uk (for businesses). It
7098-433: The source of executive power exercised by the government. In addition to explicit statutory authority , the Crown also possesses a body of powers in certain matters collectively known as the royal prerogative . These powers range from the authority to issue or withdraw passports to declarations of war. By long-standing convention, most of these powers are delegated from the sovereign to various ministers or other officers of
7189-666: The sovereign, although this authority is exercised only after receiving the advice of the Privy Council . The prime minister, the House of Lords, the Leader of the Opposition, and the police and military high command serve as members and advisers of the monarch on the Privy Council. In most cases the cabinet exercise power directly as leaders of the government departments , though some Cabinet positions are sinecures to
7280-400: The start of Edward VII 's reign in 1901, by convention, the prime minister has been an elected member of Parliament (MP) and thus answerable to the House of Commons, although there were two weeks in 1963 when Alec Douglas-Home was first a member of the House of Lords and then of neither house. A similar convention applies to the position of chancellor of the exchequer . The last chancellor of
7371-581: The supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet . Ministers of the Crown are responsible to the House in which they sit; they make statements in that House and take questions from members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons rather than the House of Lords . The government is dependent on Parliament to make primary legislation , and general elections are held every five years (at most) to elect
7462-541: The terms that people search for when wanting to do things that government can help them with. Arrange that Google, Yahoo! and MSN searches for those terms take them to the correct site. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in August 2007, the Chief Executive of Directgov, Jayne Nickalls, responded: Directionless does work a lot of the time. But it misses the point that Directgov joins up information for
7553-415: Was a referendum on whether TV licensing should be scrapped, with the slogan "No Billag", a reference to the previous collector of the licence fees. Parliament have advocated a no vote. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal by 71.6 to 28.4 per cent and in all cantons. Following the vote, the fee was significantly reduced. A licence fee of up to 16 per cent is paid to the state broadcaster TRT by
7644-415: Was abolished on 1 April 2014, leaving these services to be funded by the UK licence fee, a move which has caused some controversy. Channel 4 is also a public television service but it is funded through advertising. The Welsh language S4C is funded through a combination of a direct grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and advertising, and receives some programming free of charge from
7735-409: Was added to the site. The site linked to a number of online transactions and forms such as applying for a passport , buying a television licence , car licensing, registering to vote, and completing a Self Assessment tax return. From 2006, users in England were able to find out about a wide range of services provided by local councils in their area, from reporting illegally dumped rubbish to renewing
7826-469: Was also available through analogue teletext pages as well as digital interactive television on Freeview channel 106 until 1 July 2010, Sky until 22 December 2010 and Virgin Media until 31 March 2011. Directgov also provided a service that covered country-wide customised maps for blue badge holders, In addition to council policies, this service also would pinpoint the location of features specific to
7917-412: Was designed to help children aged 5 to 11 find out about the world around them, by exploring the places and people in their local community. The Flash animated site was based around a cartoon globe, with interactive buildings including a police station, a town hall and a school. A version of Directgov for mobile phones was available by typing direct.gov.uk/mobile into the phone's browser . Directgov
8008-542: Was granted to TG4 . RTÉ is now required to provide TG4 with programming. The remainder of TG4's funding is from direct state grants and commercial income. The licence fee in Italy is charged to each household with a television set, regardless of use, and to all public premises with one or more televisions or radios. In 2016, the government reduced the licence fee to €100 per household and incorporated it into electricity bills in an attempt to eliminate evasion, and as of 2018,
8099-485: Was more than €7.9 billion. The board of public broadcasters sued the German states for interference with their budgeting process, and on 11 September 2007, the Supreme Court decided in their favour. This effectively rendered the public broadcasters independent and self-governing. Public broadcasters have announced that they are determined to use all available ways to reach their "customers" and as such have started
8190-413: Was primarily an information resource, providing users with officially written advice and information targeted to specific topics (e.g. motoring, money) and audiences (e.g. disabled people, parents). It also provided directories of government departments, agencies and local councils. There was also a Welsh language version of the site. Over time, access to online government transactions and public services
8281-449: Was reported at the launch of the strategy that of 951 websites, only 26 would definitely stay, 551 would definitely close and hundreds more were expected to follow. About £9 million a year was expected to be saved over three years by cutting back on sites that did not serve a useful purpose. On 1 April 2008, Directgov moved again, from the COI to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), in
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