BBC ‘not under attack’, culture secretary says

TV LICENCE: Nicky Morgan moots fee change amid debate on funding model

Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan has mooted the possible end of the TV licence fee, while denying the BBC is under “attack”.

Her remarks on the licence fee – which underpins the funding of the broadcaster – come after the UK Government launched a consultation on decriminalising its evasion.

Baroness Morgan said “the licence fee will remain in place” until the end of December 2027, the current Charter period.

“However, we must all be openminded about the future of the licence fee beyond this point,” she said.

Confirming a “detailed look at the future of the TV licence model itself”, she said there was a “longer debate” to be had about the licence fee in the wake of the arrival of streaming giants such as Netflix.

Lord Hall, the outgoing BBC director general, previously suggested he thinks the licence fee will survive beyond 2027, saying: “I think it’s got another life.”

Former BBC director general Baron Birt, who listened to Baroness Morgan’s speech in central London, said the moves would be seen as an attack on a “peerless but never perfect institution”.

The debate about “future funding models” comes in the run-up to the BBC’S 100th birthday in 2022.

The culture secretary hit back at suggestions that the moves could be seen as an effort to suppress the BBC, which hit controversy and angered politicians during the election.

“I don’t think anyone should interpret today’s announcement or discussion about the licence fee... as any kind of attack on the BBC,” she said at a Policy

Exchange speech, calling it a “cherished British institution”.

She said she “utterly refutes” the suggestion the changes are motivated by punishment of the BBC over alleged slights during the election.

Most of the BBC’S income – around £3.7 billion every year – comes from the TV licence fee.

Baroness Morgan added: “Anybody who’s been campaigning in recent years, standing on doorsteps, will know there is more and more talk about, ‘Why do I pay the licence fee, what do I get for it?”’

It is “the government’s duty to shine a light” on funding issues, she said, and “public service broadcasting is too important to allow it to become a historical relic like Blockbuster”.

Under the consultation, people will be asked for their views on whether criminal sanctions for the non-payment of the licence fee should be replaced by an alternative enforcement scheme.

Currently, those who refuse to pay the fine for non-payment face the possibility of criminal conviction and imprisonment.

From June this year, the scheme of all over-75s receiving free TV licences will be restricted to those who claim pension credit.

Picture: PA. Baroness Morgan said the fee will remain until the end of 2027.