Lisa Nandy rules out funding BBC from taxes
The Culture Secretary has said the BBC would not be able to get funding from general taxation if the TV license fee was scrapped.
Lisa Nandy told BBC Breakfast the license fee was “seriously regressive” and she was looking at alternatives “very aggressively and creatively”.
But she said it would not include using money from general taxation to fund the BBC, as that could expose broadcasters to interference from politicians with money in their hands.
Nandy did not rule out a BBC subscription model but said there was a “range” of other possible options.
She said the government was “determined to tackle this issue and I think there is a real sense among the public that licensing fees were set up for a different era”.
Nandy has begun talks with the BBC over funding for the company after its current royal charter expires in 2027.
The charter is drawn up by the government, Sets out the terms and purposes of the BBC’s existence and usually lasts for around ten years.
The company currently generates most of its revenue from licensing fees, which cost £169.50 per year.
“There are a range of alternatives, but we haven’t committed to any of them yet. I think what people are speculating on is general taxation,” Nandy said.
However, this is “not something we are considering” as “it is important that we have free and fair broadcasting in this country and be able to hold the government to account”, she continued.
“But there is no doubt in my mind that the license fee is not only insufficient and does not raise enough money to support the BBC, it is seriously regressive.
“In recent years we have seen too many women being prosecuted for not being able to pay and it is a flat fee which means poorer people pay a higher proportion of the fee than anyone else.
“It doesn’t help the BBC, it doesn’t help the government, it doesn’t help the people of this country, so we make no apology for the fact that we are looking at all options and we are thinking about how we think in radical and creative ways about how we are going to be in many of the future Securing the future of our national broadcaster.”
She added: “In other countries in Europe they have found different ways of raising money.
“In France, for example, they have a tax on cinemas. I’m not making any promises at this stage.”
The BBC received £3.7bn from license fees last financial year, around two-thirds of its total revenue.
However, the company said increases in the cost of TV licenses, which have been below the rate of inflation, have “reduced our revenue over a number of years and placed significant pressure on our finances”.
Last year, director general Tim Davie said the broadcaster’s annual savings target would rise to £700m a year by 2028.
Nandy was speaking as he prepared to host a summit of 250 cultural businesses and leaders in Gateshead, where he pledged £60m of government support for the creative industries.
