LUCY FRAZER: Why I’ve capped the TV licence fee rise… There is no legitimate case for increasing it in the current climate

The last few years have been tough. The unprecedented horror and devastating impact of the Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine has left households facing severe economic headwinds caused by high inflation and global energy problems. Even though the economy has changed, I know they still feel the pressure.

We are not complacent – we know that inflation in some regions is becoming more stable. The government has made clear it will take action to support households across the country with rising costs. This should include the BBC license fee.

That’s why we froze the license fee for two years in January 2022, saving people £17. This freeze will end in April next year and the license fee will rise in line with inflation. But I understand that bill increases are never welcome and household budgets remain tight, so yesterday I stepped in and limited increases to the equivalent of less than £1 a month.

The BBC is of great importance to this country. At its best, it reflects our values, culture and identity. We saw in his coverage of the Coronation, his reporting on the conflict in Ukraine and the hosting of Eurovision, his unparalleled ability to inform, educate and entertain. He knows the pressures households and businesses are under because he reports on them every day.

It will still have £3.8 billion to spend on producing its world-leading content and knows that in the current climate there is no legitimate justification – economic or otherwise – for sharply increasing license fees.

Lucy Fraser: We are not complacent – we know that inflation is becoming more resilient in some regions. The government has made clear it will take action to support households across the country with rising costs. This should include the BBC license fee.

The BBC is of great importance to this country. At its best, it reflects our values, culture and identity.

I understand that households will see an increase of £10.50. The number of license fee payers is shrinking and media competition is becoming increasingly fierce. We need to make sure that the cost of the BBC does not rise exponentially and that it is borne by fewer license fee payers.

And our job is to think beyond tomorrow. We know that if we want the BBC to succeed, we cannot freeze its income. But at the same time, we cannot keep asking households to pay more to support the BBC indefinitely.

The BBC understands – as do we – that the license fee was set in a very different era to the one we live in today. The entire media landscape has changed with the advent of new technologies and streaming services. We can’t bury our heads in the sand. This is a problem that needs to be addressed head-on.

We need to ask clarifying questions about the license fee in the long term. Will other BBC models help to generate commercial income from the huge variety of creative output? How can we best support the BBC while reducing costs for households? To help us answer these questions, we are launching a review to look at a range of corporate financing options.

He will review the evidence, talk to experts and analyze options. It will complete its work to inform the next BBC charter in 2027.

It will also specifically address the issue of criminal prosecution for license fees – which I personally consider morally indefensible in this day and age – an issue that can only be changed by a revision of the statute.

The BBC is a great national institution and we want to make sure it is fit for the present and the future, while keeping costs to the public low.

We all want the BBC to thrive and to live up to the public’s expectations when it comes to impartiality, accuracy and diversity of opinion. This can only happen with a sustainable funding model that matches the changing global digital age we live in today.