I refer the Deputy to my answer to a similar question on 13 December 1989, columns 1319 to 1321, volume No. 394, No. 5 of the Official Report for that day.
The total amount outstanding is now estimated to be £504, 735. At this stage 17 licensees are in arrears. Most of the money outstanding is the subject of agreements with the individual companies concerned and there is no reason to believe that this part of the arrears will not be paid over the next few years.
Legal action has commenced recently against one licensee and my Department's experience in this case will determine tactics in the future against recalcitrant payers. My Department will continue to collect outstanding amounts through routine follow-up of individual cases, legal action, refusal to consider applications for consent to increase charges unless outstanding licence fees are addressed in a satisfactory way, and refusal to consent to the transfer of licences unless my Department are also satisfied with regard to outstanding licences fees.