PEOPLE who are blind, severely sight impaired or live with someone who is are being urged to check that they aren’t missing out on a concessionary TV Licence which allows them to save 50 per cent on the cost.

TV Licensing has been working with Sight Cymru to make sure anyone who is eligible to receive the concession is aware and takes advantage of the reduced TV Licence fee. There are 22 blind licences in force in Ammanford.

Nationally, the number of blind concessionary licences has risen by 4 per cent this year, with 41,392 blind concessionary licences issued in the UK, up from 39,700, the previous year.

Increasing numbers of BBC shows are provided with Audio Description (AD), with over 20 per cent of BBC output now audio-described, above the target of 10 per cent set for broadcasters by Ofcom.

As well as those who are blind, severely sight impaired, live-in carers or family members could also benefit from the concession and enjoy AD programming themselves. A blind concession TV Licence costs £72.75 for colour and £24.50 for a black and white TV Licence.

Cat Griffith-Williams, spokesperson for TV Licensing in Wales, said: “If you live with someone who is blind, they are entitled to a concessionary TV Licence, which is half the price of a full fee licence. This will cover you, as well as anyone else living in your household. There is a range of ways to pay, online with a debit or card, monthly or quarterly direct debit, over-the-counter and by phone or post.”

If you live with someone who is eligible and already have a full fee TV Licence in your name, you can transfer the licence to the name of the person who registered as severely sight impaired and halve the cost. To do this, simply fill in the form available at tvlicensing.co.uk/blind or contact TV Licensing on 0300 790 0366.

Those who use a digital box used to produce sound only, do not require a TV Licence provided it cannot display TV programmes. Anyone who does not watch or record live TV on any device can let TV Licensing know by completing an online declaration at tvlicensing.co.uk/nln.

Anyone affected by sight loss can get TV Licensing information by email or in Braille, large print or audio by calling 0300 555 0300. An audio podcast about the concession is available online at audioboo.com/tvlicensing.