TV Licence fees 'could be cut in real terms' to help aid the ongoing cost of living crisis across the UK, it is reported. Usually, the cost of a TV Licence rises with inflation year on year, currently sitting at £159.
But it was frozen for two years in 2022, with then Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announcing that it would not rise again until 2024. This could mean a substantial hike should the rise next year go ahead, with inflation currently teetering at 8.7 per cent.
However, The Daily Mail reports that ministers are said to be looking at removing the link between the annual fee and inflation, with a source, saying: "Ministers realise a near 10 per cent rise is not exactly going to go down well, so they are looking at moving from the standard annualised inflation figure to a different, lower measure."
Read more: The TV Licence rules you need to know for Sky, Netflix and other streaming services
The Mirror reports that although the price rise has not yet been announced, it would most likely be calculated using the annualised inflation rate spanning October 2022 and September 2023. A projected rise of 8.2 per cent would see the £159 fee increase by £13 to £172.
The TV Licence is an annual bill paid on a monthly or yearly basis, which legal allows people to watch live television while it is being broadcast. It also allows people to use online streaming services to watch TV like the popular BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
Last week, former BBC Chair Richard Sharpe suggested that wealthier households should pay more than those on low incomes for access to BBC services and live TV access. He told the Daily Telegraph's Chopper's Politics podcast that the 'regressive' system used at present could be replaced by a tax on broadband bills, or a household levy based on property value.
He said: "You can look at models around the world, there’s a broadband tax, there’s a household tax, and there’s the Licence fee. Change is disruptive from moving from one mechanism that works to another."
Labour earlier this year announced that it would carry out a review of the BBC's operations, looking at how its chair and board are appointed as well as means testing the fee. The Government are considering options of replacing the TV Licence fee with a different funding model by 2027, when its charter expires.
A BBC spokesman told the Mail: "We expect the Government to calculate the licence fee rise in the autumn, in the normal way set out in the BBC Charter. Anything before then is speculation."
The BBC were contacted by The Mirror for comment.
