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<p>The offences of using a TV receiver without a valid licence and of failure to hold
a valid vehicle excise duty licence (tax disc) are not punishable by imprisonment,
so offenders cannot be sentenced to custody for these offences. Failing to pay council
tax is not a criminal offence.</p><p> </p><p>Offenders found guilty of TV licence
or vehicle excise evasion may be sentenced to a fine. Failure to pay a fine can lead,
following enforcement action and as a last resort, to committal to prison for fine
default. Failure to pay council tax is pursued through the civil courts and can also
lead, ultimately, to committal to prison.</p><p> </p><p>Data for receptions into prison
for defaulting on the TV licence fine, in England and Wales, 2008 to 2012 can be viewed
in table 1 below. Receptions for defaulting on the vehicle excise duty fine cannot
be separately identified.</p><p><strong>Table 1</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td
colspan="9"><p><strong>Fine defaulters received into prison for defaulting on fines
imposed for using a TV without a valid licence: England and Wales, 2008-2012</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td>
</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td
colspan="3"><p><strong>Length to serve in respect of fine</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2008</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2009</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td>
</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td>
</td><td> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Less than or equal to 3 months</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>34</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>30</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>30</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>48</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>50</strong></p></td><td>
</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Greater than 3 months less than or equal
to 6 months</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1</strong></p></td><td>
</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td>
</td><td> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><p><em>Data Sources and Quality:</em></p></td><td>
</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="8"><p><em>These
figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale
recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. </em></p></td><td>
</td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Data in relation to failure to pay council tax
are shown in table 2 below.</p><p><strong>Table 2</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Disposal</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013
</strong></p><p><strong>(To Sept )</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Immediate
Imprisonment</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>122</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>104</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>106</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>81</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Committal
Warrant Issued</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>5</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Totals</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>123</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>109</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>107</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>81</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p><em>Notes:</em></p><p>· <em>This data has been extracted solely for the purposes
of answering this question and has not been subject to data quality checks that would
be applied for published statistics</em></p><p>· <em>The date is based on case completion
date</em></p><p>· <em>The total figures include committal to prison, detention until
court rises, imprisonment and imprisonment in default.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The
number of defendants proceeded against in magistrates' courts, and found guilty and
sentenced in all courts, for installing or using a television receiver without the
appropriate licence, in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012, can be viewed in Table
3.</p><p> </p><p>The number of defendants proceeded against in magistrates' courts,
and found guilty and sentenced in all courts, for keeping a motor vehicle on the highway
without a current vehicle excise licence, in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012,
can be viewed in Table 4.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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