BBC licence payment could also be axed and changed with ‘internet charge’ in radical shake-up
Brits could be forced to pay an £11-a-month internet charge to replace the BBC licence fee under new proposals being considered by ministers
Changes to the BBC fee have been put forward(Image: PA Wire/Press Association Images)
The BBC licence fee could be scrapped and replaced by a monthly internet charge as part of a radical shake-up. Under bold new plans being considered by ministers, Brits could be forced to pay an £11-a-month fee instead.
The change would mean an end to the current £180-a-year TV licence and instead add the cost straight onto household bills – most likely the broadband one.
The proposal comes from a report by the Social Market Foundation think tank, which has put forward the idea as they look into what could be the best option for BBC funding in the years to come.
Under the plan, every home with an internet connection would automatically fund the BBC, even if nobody in the house watches live telly and there would be no opt out option.
The controversial recommendation is one of several options on the table as part of the Government’s ongoing Charter Review into the future of the BBC.
Brits could see a change to household bills(Image: PA)
It comes as experts look to stop the issue of people not paying amid fears that the BBC’s traditional funding model is no longer working.
The report states that the number of people paying the licence fee is on the decline and has been for years, with evasion rocketing from under 7% in 2019 to more than 12% last year. It is expected that amount will continue to rise in the coming years.
The report has set out the £11 “Home Internet Levy” with it understood that the idea has already been floated with advisers to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. Under the plan, the new charge would actually work out cheaper than the current licence fee for millions of existing payers and would stop those who avoid paying.
It is understood the changes have been put forward as an idea to Lisa Nandy(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
The change would see households pay around £132 a year through their broadband provider instead of the current £180 annual fee. There are concerns the change could hit poorer families hardest, though the report says a social tariff discount could be built in to protect low-income households.
An alternative option also being considered is a smaller “News and Culture Levy” worth £2.30 a month, added on top of the existing licence fee rather than replacing it. This would be designed to plug a growing black hole in BBC finances, estimated at more than £800million a year within a decade if the current slide in licence fee payments continues.
The changes are expected to be a central plank of the BBC’s next Royal Charter, which governs how the corporation is run and funded for the next decade. Figures now show that the BBC currently rakes in £3.8billion a year from the licence fee at present.
But bosses have repeatedly warned that popular shows and thousands of jobs are at risk if the funding crisis is not tackled head on.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the BBC were contacted for comment.
