BBC license fees could reportedly increase by £13 next year as government struggles under pressure to reverse price increases After that, it is scheduled to rise in line with inflation in April 2024.
This week, the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts that the inflation rate used will be 8.2%. Telegraph report.
This means the BBC’s receiving fees will rise from £159 to £172, the biggest increase in over 20 years.
But government ministers are under pressure to intervene and stop price increases announced as official policy last year.
On Thursday night, Tory MP Nadine Dries, who approved a freeze until 2024 as secretary of culture, urged refraining from further increases in licensing fees until changes to the BBC’s funding are considered.
Mr Dries said: “We are in favor of a freeze until a full review of the BBC’s funding arrangements has been completed and alternatives have been considered.”
OBR is the government’s official independent forecaster.
On Wednesday, the OBR produced a series of estimates including revenues to the Treasury Department, along with the budget.
The BBC’s subscription revenue is projected to jump from £3.7bn in 2023 to £4bn in 2024.
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It is the first time it has reached the £4 billion level. This is an increase of around 30% from his 2016, when total licensing fees raised him £3.1bn.
An OBR spokesperson said the inflation forecast figure used to calculate the BBC’s fee hike in April 2024 was 8.2%.
The license fee figures have come to light following a BBC fairness controversy sparked by a tweet by football presenter Gary Lineker, with some Conservative MPs calling for the license fee to be scrapped.
Lineker wrote that the government’s language on the new immigration law “doesn’t resemble the one Germany used in the 1930s.”
This remark sparked a backlash and was forced to resign one episode of Match of the Day.
A BBC spokesperson told The Telegraph: “The government has agreed to a six-year license fee settlement in January 2022, with price increases to match inflation from 2024, reducing license fees by two. Frozen for a year.
“The BBC will not speculate what inflation will be or how it will affect future license fees.
“Ultimately, the government will set and confirm the cost of the license each year. I will continue.”
A spokesman for the Department of Culture told the publication: Or 2027. The exact level of inflation has yet to be confirmed.
“The BBC’s funding model is facing major challenges due to changes in how people consume media. I have.”
