The Manx government is still negotiating with the BBC over a deal to part-fund free TV licences for the over-75s.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle told Tynwald in January that officer-level discussions with the BBC that began last October were ongoing and agreement was anticipated in the next few months.

But now MLC David Cretney has asked for an update from the Cabinet Office, which revealed the talks were taking longer than expected.

Director of external communications Della Fletcher told him that the licence fee concession is still on the radar, and it’s hoped a positive announcement will be made in the next few weeks.

She said: ’You will understand that this has been a particularly busy and challenging few months and it has not been possible for every issue to have been progressed as quickly as we might have wished.

’However, the issue of reaching agreement with the BBC on it part-funding the TV licence fee concession of the over 75s in the island, in a similar way to that which the BBC has agreed with Jersey and Guernsey for 2018/19 and 2019/20, is still very much on our radar.

’I hope that we will be in a position to announce something positive about this issue in the next few weeks.’

Jersey reached an agreement just before Christmas that will see the BBC provide partial funding for licences for those over 75 years old from next year.

Mr Cretney told the Manx Independent: ’This was raised at a recent Manx Labour Party meeting.

’Our members are concerned that unless the same arrangements are put in place between the Isle of Man government and the BBC the Manx taxpayer will be worse off.’

The proposal that the Manx government should no longer fund free BBC licences from September last year were approved as part of the 2015 budget.

The move sparked protests, particularly from veterans’ groups.

But at the first Tynwald of the new administration following the general election, Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan announced that universal free television licences for those aged 75 or over were reinstated.

He said the licences could not be reinstated on a like-for-like basis as they had been repealed at the government’s request.

In the UK, the BBC is taking over funding free TV licences over a three-year period starting in 2018, with the Westminster government contributing two thirds of the cost in 2018-19, reducing to one third in 2019-20 and nothing from 2020-21.