BBC TV licence could be scrapped as 5 new proposals put forward – cheapest is £11 a month.TA
Experts warn that the broadcaster could lose 21% of its licence-fee payers over the next decade.
The BBC TV licence could eventually be scrapped under proposals put forward for different ways of funding the broadcaster. A report by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) has set out a series of options as the Government reviews the BBC’s Royal Charter, which expires at the end of 2027. Among the biggest proposals is replacing the current £180-a-year licence fee with a compulsory charge linked to household broadband bills.
Under the SMF’s suggested “Home Internet Levy”, households with fixed broadband would pay around £11 a month, equivalent to £132 a year. The levy would replace the TV licence rather than being charged on top of it, meaning households currently paying the full fee would save £48 a year. However, under the proposal, people who have broadband but do not currently require a TV licence could face a new charge even if they never watch BBC programmes.
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A new report has set out a series of options as the Government reviews the BBC’s Royal Charter (Image: Getty)
The SMF has warned that the broadcaster could lose 21% of its licence-fee payers over the next decade, potentially creating an annual funding shortfall of £800million in today’s money.
Another proposal would retain the existing licence fee but introduce a separate “News and Culture Levy” on broadband bills.
This would cost £2.30 a month, or £27.60 annually, taking the overall yearly cost for somebody paying the full £180 licence fee to £207.60.
The extra money would be intended to compensate for the expected decline in licence-fee income.
Other proposals look at ways of reducing the cost for households on certain benefits.
People receiving Universal Credit and some Pension Credit claimants could receive a 25% discount, cutting their annual licence fee from £180 to £135 and saving £45.
The SMF estimates the concession would cost £270million a year, which it suggests could be funded by the Government or through the proposed smaller levy.
BBC’s Royal Charter expires at the end of 2027 (Image: Getty)
Another option would extend free TV licences to all Pension Credit recipients, saving eligible households the full £180 annual fee. The think-tank estimates that would cost around £78million each year.
The SMF also considered more fundamental alternatives, including funding the BBC through general taxation or introducing a subscription model.
Funding through taxation could mean wealthier households contributing more and lower-income households paying less, although the report raises concerns about the potential implications for the BBC’s independence from government.
A subscription system would allow people who do not use the BBC to pay nothing. However, the SMF warns that it would not generate enough money to maintain existing services and estimates that between 41% and 63% of BBC programmes could disappear without public funding.
Advertising is another possibility discussed in the report, but the SMF argues this could harm commercial broadcasters while failing to raise enough money.
A TV licence is currently required to watch or record live television or use BBC iPlayer, while people who only watch on-demand programmes through other services may not need one.
No decision has been made on the future of the licence fee, and the Government has not announced plans for the SMF’s broadband levy. Its Charter Review has said it is not considering replacing the licence fee with a new household tax or funding the BBC through general taxation.
The five proposals for the TV licence in short
1. Replace the TV licence with an £11-a-month broadband levy
The SMF proposes replacing the £180 annual licence fee with a “Home Internet Levy” of around £11 a month on households with fixed broadband, costing £132 a year.
2. Keep the licence fee and add a £2.30-a-month levy
A “News and Culture Levy” of £2.30 a month could be added to broadband bills alongside the existing licence fee, taking the combined annual cost for a full licence payer to £207.60.
3. Give some benefit claimants a 25% discount
People receiving Universal Credit and some Pension Credit claimants could receive a 25% reduction, cutting the annual licence fee from £180 to £135.
4. Give all Pension Credit recipients a free TV licence
Free TV licences could be extended to all Pension Credit recipients, meaning eligible households would save the full £180 annual cost.
5. Replace the current system with another funding model
The SMF also examined alternatives including general taxation or a subscription system, although the Government’s Charter Review says it is not considering replacing the licence fee with general taxation or a new household tax.
Shocking moment migrant leaves child in the sea during horror Channel crossing
Shocking video footage showed a man carrying a child into the water, only to abandon the youngster
Migrant abandons child during Channel migrant crossing
This is the harrowing moment a migrant left an injured child and climbed onto a Channel dinghy as the stricken youngster was rescued.
Footage of the man carrying the terrified tot through the waves to a waiting taxi-boat emerged on the same day 781 people crossed. After a wave crashes into the small child near Berck, the migrant continues pushing towards the boat, which was already packed with asylum seekers.
A wave then carries the vessel into the pair, and the dazed child starts floating on top of the water. French lifeboat crews rushed through the water, lifting the shocked child onto a rescue paddleboard. But the man shockingly turns away and tries to climb onto the dinghy.
The bewildered child is then left sitting nearby, watching, as dozens of people flounder in the water, with others still trying to clamber onto the boat.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is a sickening and heartbreaking scene. A few weeks ago, I saw a similar embarkation myself, where the young male illegal immigrants pushed women and children off the boat.
“The needy are abandoned and young, often-violent men push their way to the front and enter the UK. Women have recently died during crossings on these boats in unexplained circumstances. This illegal immigration route must be completely ended.
“The French government is morally culpable for letting it happen on their beaches when they could easily stop it, as the Belgians have done. The charities supporting this wave of illegal immigration are equally guilty for what is happening, including for the deaths that have occurred.”
The man carries the child towards the dinghy (Image: NowherePhotographer)
The child, apparently unmoving, falls into the water (Image: NowherePhotographer)
Rescuers approach the child (Image: NowherePhotographer)
The child is taken away (Image: NowherePhotographer)
France’s Maritime Prefect for the Channel and the North Sea said the child had been taken into care after the incident on Monday afternoon.
The organisation said: “The gendarmerie and the fire service subsequently took charge of the child, and the prefecture’s land-based services then took over. The child was taken into care following a medical incident.”
The astonishing moment came as 781 people crossed the Channel – a record number for this year.
It will heap pressure on ministers as they desperately try to convince people the borders are secure.
Some 18,565 people have crossed the Channel this year, down 42% on the equivalent point last year.
New analysis has revealed the number of migrants to have crossed the Channel under Labour is greater than the number of full-time soldiers in the British Army.
Some 83,279 people have arrived in small boats, overtaking the 83,000 in the Army.
An average of 103 people per day have crossed the Channel in the 809 days since Labour won the keys to Downing Street.
Mr Philp said: “Labour has let an entire Army-sized population cross the Channel illegally.
“More people have arrived in small boats than we have soldiers defending Britain. That is completely bonkers. Labour has lost control of our borders and seems utterly incapable of getting it back.
“The Conservative plan is to end hotels and benefits for illegal immigrants and instead deport them.”
The dinghy packed with migrants (Image: NowherePhotographer)
But Labour’s Lucy Powell, the Education Secretary, sensationally claimed that Border Force cannot intercept every single migrant crossing.
The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, launched an “urgent review” as officials confirmed at least 21 asylum seekers arrived in Samphire Hoe on Tuesday.
Others are feared to be on the run, with the Home Office carrying out a “thorough investigation”.
And at least five migrants were detected at The Warren, a rocky stretch of coast near Folkestone, on Monday. The crossings were the first unauthorised landings in a year
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s Home Affairs spokesman, said: “This is an abject surrender of our borders by Lucy Powell and Labour. Every migrant boat can and should be intercepted, but this government is too gutless to deploy the Royal Navy and protect the British public from this invasion of undocumented fighting-age men.”
Mr Yusuf added: “It’s abundantly clear that this government will not stop the invasion of unvetted fighting-age males into our country.
“Instead, they are incentivising them with lavish police motorcades to their taxpayer-funded hotels, all while the British public struggles to afford to live in our own country.
“Labour’s promise to smash the gangs is in complete tatters. Without withdrawing from the ECHR and deploying the Royal Navy, the boats will keep on coming, and Brits will continue being forced to foot the bill for these invaders.”
Ms Powell echoed that language on Thursday but suggested not all crossings could be prevented.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the situation was embarrassing for the Government, she responded: “(You) can’t stop everything all of the time.
“Of course, it’s a concern. That’s why the Home Secretary has demanded and ordered this urgent review, because this is not what we want to see. This is not acceptable.
“But the overall picture is an improving picture. It is hard, difficult work that requires constant, constant effort by our border forces, our security services, police, our partnerships with France and other countries.
“This is a mammoth and huge task, which is now starting to reap some dividends. But of course, you know where there are still issues arising, we must absolutely tackle them.”
Pressed on Good Morning Britain whether she stood by her statement, Ms Powell said: “I think you’re just taking that completely out of context.
“We are clamping down on small boat crossings every single day… we are sucking the oxygen out of it, we are taking steps, and there are many, many steps.
“It’s not an easy thing to do to just turn on a switch, turn off a switch overnight. We have to constantly evolve.”
A Government spokesperson said: “Our progress this year in tackling small boats is indisputable – with crossings down by 42% and the lowest recorded over the summer months since 2020.
“But this week’s events show that while the peaks we are seeing are far below those of previous years, we need to push further and harder in order to eradicate this vile trade.”
