"BBC licence fee has 10 years of life left in it"

The licence fee could have ten more years of life left in it, according to BBC director general Tony Hall.



Hall discussed the future of the licence fee to BBC's Andrew Marr, saying that reform is important to ensure "everyone is paying equally for it".

"Reform is up for the government to decide and have a debate," he said. "We suggested ways of reforming it so whatever way you consume and use BBC services you can pay for it. Somewhere in there lies a solution."

On the idea of introducing a household fee instead, Hall commented that it was a "very interesting idea".

Dismissing the idea of a subscription model similar to Netflix, he added: "By everybody paying something, we all get great services for a lot less than if you went down a subscription model route."

Hall also discussed culture secretary John Whittingdale's comments about the licence fee, in which Whittingdale called it "worse than a poll tax".

"He's very direct about the BBC and the licence fee, but John Whittingdale's report when he was chairman of the DCMS committee said some very positive things about the BBC," Hall said.

"He knows the sector and loves what the media do - and the arts - and it's a positive way to start."

The BBC is in denial about continuation of the licence fee just as it was in denial about Jimmy Saville. It can no longer be justified in its present form.

Hall has got his head up his ar$e.

From End BBC Licence Fee website...

There was a staggering 22,729 people were wrongly prosecuted of committing a TV licence offence last year in England and Wales. The cost of pursuing these failed prosecutions, added to the cost of the legal process, again calls into question the methods used against TV licence evaders.


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Source FOI 257-15 97119

From End BBC Licence Fee website...

There was a staggering 22,729 people were wrongly prosecuted of committing a TV licence offence last year in England and Wales.

It's debatable whether anyone was rightfully prosecuted?

People (mainly the woman of the house) are fined for not being able to pay the licence then jailed for not being able to pay the fine.

There may have been some justification for that when there was a welfare state which looked after the very poorest in society, there isn't now.

There was also a time when the BBC was responsible for the bulk of TV and radio broadcasting, it is barely significant now.

BBC licence fee could be means tested under Government charter renewal plans

Middle class families will be forced to pay more for the licence fee than poor households under plans for a Finnish-style means tested broadcasting levy to pay for the BBC.

John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, will today publish a green paper which will propose “root and branch reform” of the BBC as part of its royal charter renewal.

He will consider plans for a new means tested levy to be paid by better-off taxpayers based on their annual income – regardless of whether or not they own a television.

The Telegraph understands that one plan under consideration is to replace the current licence fee with a levy based on a model used in Finland since 2013.

Under the Finnish system, everyone in the country is required to pay the licence even if they do not have a television.

It means that there can be multiple payers of the levy in a single household.

Finnish taxpayers pay the licence fee at a rate of 0.68 per cent of their income but with an upper maximum contribution of €143 (£100). If the contribution of a low-income taxpayer is calculated at below €51 (£35) then that individual does not have to pay.

A Government source said: “Everything is on the table as part of charter renewal. John [Whittingdale] has been clear that the current licence fee does not work. This is going to be a very significant moment for the BBC.