Major shake-up of how people pay BBC licence fee proposed
Major shake-up of how people pay BBC licence fee proposed
BBC chairman Samir Shah suggested the current flat fee could be replaced in future
The BBC licence fee would be means tested if the proposals were introduced
(Image: Getty )
A BBC boss has proposed TV licence fees could be based on the value of one's home in future. Chairman Samir Shah suggested that the current £174.50 fee could be replaced with a progressive payment structure tied to property values.
In an interview earlier this year, he proposed that the fee could be linked to council tax bands and collected concurrently, marking his first significant change since succeeding Richard Sharp. He also dismissed the notion of replacing the TV licence with a Netflix-style subscription service, arguing it wouldn't fulfil the BBC's mission to provide something for everyone in the country.
Under this proposal, households in higher council tax bands would pay more for BBC services, while those in lower bands might pay less than the current rate. The option to opt out of paying a TV licence would be removed. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Shah believes this approach would lessen the need to prosecute non-payers, telling The Sunday Times: "It gets rid of the enforcement issue, which is a problem. The idea that not paying the licence fee is a criminal offence seems too harsh."
For regions like Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands, where Council Tax doesn't apply, an alternative method would need to be established, reports the Express.
Article continues below
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy may be receptive to the idea, having previously described the current model as "harder for poorer households to pay".
During the interview, he tackled queries about altering the BBC's funding model and dismissed the idea of a hybrid structure that would offer basic services like news for free while charging for drama or comedy content.
He also mentioned that introducing advertising to the BBC would "kill off ITV" and rejected the notion that the BBC should be funded entirely through general taxation, arguing it would "leave the BBC open to influence from the government of the day".
Article continues below
At the moment, although there are concessions or free licences for certain groups, such as those over 75 who receive Pension Credit, the licence fee does not take personal assets into account.
The standard licence fee is set at £174.50 per annum, with a reduced rate of £58.50 for black and white TV subscriptions. For individuals who are blind or severely sight-impaired, there is a 50% concession, bringing the cost down to £87.25.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
36 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Highly-rated BBC show loved by fans coming to an end
Boarders, which follows five underprivileged students from inner-city London who win scholarships to an elite boarding school, has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%. The popular school programme made its debut last year and currently has two seasons available to watch on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. BBC comedy series Boarders to come to an end after three seasons According to The Sun, the third series of the show will be its last, seeing fans across the country left disappointed. The new series will see Jodie Campbell, Sekou Diaby, Aruna Jalloh, Myles Kamwendo, and Josh Tedeku reprise their roles. Discussing the show, writer, creator and executive producer Daniel Lawrence Taylor, said: 'Boarders has been a deeply personal project for me, and it's been incredible to see how audiences have connected with the characters. "From day one, I wanted to create something funny, honest, and proudly Black, "And in this final term, I hope to finish their story as they face their final year with greater challenges, deeper friendships and the looming question of life beyond school.' Studio Lambert Creative Director, Scripted Madeleine Sinclair says: 'Daniel's fearless and sharp writing, as well as standout performances from our cast have meant that audiences have truly embraced our characters and we cannot wait for everyone to see how their stories conclude – with humour, honesty, and a lot of heart." Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, added that the show has been a "fun, sharp and timely addition to our screens". Recommended Reading: BBC viewers praise 'bloody brilliant' BBC comedy-drama series Boarders Discussing the show on IMDb, one viewer said: "This isn't just a good series, it's bloody brilliant. "I don't really watch many dramas on BBC but I was going through all my apps looking for something new to watch and found this. It has everything romance, drama, thrill and inclusivity." Another added: "Oh so far so good. I'm loving this, hope the next season comes out ASAP. At first I didn't think I was going to like this show but so far I am loving it. "We need more shows like this." A third dubbed it "a captivating series that will leave you yearning for more"
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
EastEnders' Elaine makes a reckless move that will cost her and Linda dearly
Elaine Peacock's (Harriet Thorpe) world is in turmoil in EastEnders next week, which results in her making a reckless move that could cost her and daughter Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) dearly. Queen Vic co-owner Elaine left fans of the BBC soap stunned when she cheated on her husband George Knight (Colin Salmon) in shock scenes earlier this week. Elaine fell into the arms of a man named Stephen as her jealousy of George's connection to his ex-wife Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) reached boiling point after he helped her out with The Albert relaunch. On Thursday, George was reeling after finding out about Elaine's betrayal, and with the future of their marriage up in the air, Elaine starts behaving erratically next week. Things start to get messy as she enjoys some drinks with Kim Fox (Tameka Empson), Mo Harris (Laila Morse), Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan-Levy), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) and Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter), and Elaine shocks Linda by declaring the prosecco is on the house all night. When Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) pops in for a drink, he notices how much Linda is struggling having to do the lion's share of the work at the Vic amid her mum's turmoil and steps in to help behind the bar. Later, a tipsy Elaine offers to book Priya a singles cruise, telling her that she can pay her back later. Linda is then horrified when she sees how her mum has taken £5k out of the business account to pay for it – but when she confronts Elaine, she shuts her down. The following morning, Elaine is viciously hungover and refuses to engage with Linda, who is still reeling at her decision to book Priya on the cruise. Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who's leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale? Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers! As his concerns for friend Linda grow, Phil decides to confront Elaine for treating her daughter so thoughtlessly, given that she is so freshly out of rehab for her alcohol addiction. More Trending However, when Elaine tries to talk to Linda, she continues to downplay her true feelings of overwhelm. Could Elaine's behaviour cause an overwhelmed Linda to relapse? And does her decision to give Priya the money have anything to do with rumours that Elaine and Linda's time as co-landladys of The Vic is coming to an end? View More » EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday 16 June at 7.30pm on BBC One or stream first from 6am on iPlayer. MORE: All EastEnders spoilers for next week as Phil rages at Walford resident MORE: EastEnders 'confirms' new Queen Vic landlady – and it's unexpected MORE: Major EastEnders couple ripped apart in early iPlayer twist as fan-favourite confesses to cheating
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Iconic author reveals shock at horror legend pal Stephen King's surprise Scottish football connection
The author is back in Scotland this week to launch the Stirling-based literary bash HORROR icon Stephen King left author pal Linwood Barclay stunned when he arrived for a chat wearing a Buckie Thistle strip. The two bestselling writers have been mates for decades but The Shining and Carrie legend's support for the Highland League minnows was a twist Linwood just did not see coming. Advertisement 2 Linwood is coming to Scotland and excited to meet his fans Credit: Getty 2 Stephen King is a supporter of Highland League side Buckie Thistle King, who has sold more than 350million books, struck up a friendship with the Moray club after he featured them in his 2020 bestseller If It Bleeds. And the 77-year-old proudly sported the green and white merch when doing a video conference with Linwood for the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival during lockdown. Linwood - who is back in Scotland this week to launch the Stirling-based literary bash - said: 'I did that Zoom call with Steve for Bloody Scotland four years ago and that was the sweater he wore. 'I remember because I thought, 'what the heck is that?' as I had no idea of his football connection.' Advertisement Now after writing over 25 best selling crime books the former journalist will follow in his famous pal's footsteps with the release of his first horror novel called Whistle. It features a children's author called Annie Blunt who moves to a small town in upstate New York with her young son Charlie for a new start after the tragic death of husband. But when Charlie finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed in the grounds of their new house it sets in motion a disturbing set of events. However, Toronto-based Linwood insists he wasn't nervous even when he sent his first draft to the undisputed king of genre. Advertisement He says: 'I wasn't intimidated by that. I think the fact is that if you had told me 30 years ago when I was reading Steve's novels that I would even know his email address, never mind emailing each other, then I wouldn't have believed it. 'But Steve is very supportive and encouraging. I feel very privileged and lucky to have the friendship I have with him.' Trailer for Stephen King's 'excessively violent' new movie BANNED by four TV networks However, far from talking about the grim and grisly, the pair normally swap Netflix recommendations. Linwood, 70, says: 'Every once in a while I get an email and it's like, 'are you watching this show, such and such?'. Advertisement 'I sent him a note last week saying 'If you've not watched it yet you should try Mobland (with Pierce Brosnan and Tom Hardy)'. I really hope they make a second season of it.' He adds: 'But it really is very troubling in the sense that I remember being at a book event a few years ago where all of the writers were sitting around saying 'are you watching this show?'. Nobody was saying, 'have you read this book?'. 'It just sort of hit us that the competition is not other writers, it's these TV shows where you can binge all this material at once. 'So I feel like you've got to write something that will make people stop streaming TV at least for a little while.' Advertisement Fans of Linwood's books, including The Accident, Elevator Pitch and Find You First, praise his explosive scenes. But the writer believes that is down to his love of 60s TV shows including The Man From U.N.C.L.E starring Scots actor David McCallum as Russian spy Illya Kuryakin. He says: 'That was my favourite show and from the age of 11, anything I wrote I was thinking of it like it was on a screen.' But the married dad could only dream of being a bestselling author when he grew up on his parents trailer park in the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario. Advertisement In the early 70s when he was 16, Linwood ended up running the place following the sudden death of his father. He recalls: 'My mum managed it, but I did like, 90 per cent of the work. Including the daily task of burying fish guts, from the fisherman who had gutted their catch. 'I had to haul it out into the woods and bury it. So on days when the writing doesn't go well, I always think it could be worse. I could still be burying fish guts.' Linwood left the trailer park to begin a long career in newspapers until the publication of his first novel No Time for Goodbye in 2007 - which became an instant international bestseller. But now with his first horror novel he's hoping to emulate pal Stephen. The model train enthusiast says: 'My book starts off with a train set because it just doesn't seem fair to me that in the horror genre, when it comes to toys, it's always dolls that get to be evil or maybe a little mechanical monkey or a rocking horse. Advertisement 'So I thought, 'I wonder if I could make toy trains scary?'. I want this book to be able to do for toy trains what Chucky did for dolls and or what Stephen King did for clowns.' Whistle by Linwood Barclay is out now in hardback priced £20 and in audio and ebook from HarperCollins. For more info on the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, visit the website.
