Daily Mail: BBC licence fee 'could be scrapped by end of 2027 and swapped for tax'

Story from Daily Mail:

The BBC TV licence fee could be scrapped and replaced by funding from general taxation under plans reportedly being considered by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.

She is said to be minded to abolish the annual fee at the end of the Corporation’s current charter in December 2027.

And there were reports last night that the money to fund programmes would instead come from taxes collected by the Government.

Ms Nandy is already exploring plans to turn the BBC into a mutual organisation where it would effectively be owned by the public.

The annual cost of the TV licence is already due to raise by £5 this April to £174.50 and will increase in line with inflation each year until 2027.

Last year, Ms Nandy promised there would be ‘an honest national conversation about the broadcaster’s long-term future’.

However, last night, Whitehall sources suggested that she had already thought that the licence fee had to go although final decisions had yet to be reached.

‘But she believes that our national broadcaster should be owned by the nation.

'The money would go in from taxes but citizens would own it and be involved in decisions about its strategic direction.’

It comes with the Corporation facing a so-called perfect storm of challenges.

Those are said to include falling income from the licence fee, younger viewers preferring YouTube, TikTok and the streaming giants, as well as scandals involving presenters.

The Government’s review of the Corporation’s governing charter is due to start this year although Ms Nandy and BBC director-general Tim Davie are said to have held ‘embryonic talks’ in December.

The BBC itself has vowed to run ‘our biggest-ever public engagement exercise’ this year as part of the discussions about its future.

In November, a BBC spokesperson said: ‘We want everyone to get value from the licence fee and we are committed to delivering trusted news, the best homegrown storytelling and those special moments that bring us together.

Last night, reports claimed Ms Nandy had already briefed Sir Keir Starmer, with the Prime Minister keen to find a long-term solution to the thorny problem of how to pay for the BBC’s output.

The Whitehall source said: ‘People have been saying for more than a decade now that the licence fee is an anachronism.

‘But then they keep going back to it.

'Keir is prepared to think more radically.’