Lisa Nandy leaves door open to wealthy paying more for BBC
The Culture Secretary said it was ‘unacceptable’ that mainly vulnerable women were being prosecuted for not paying the licence fee.
The Culture Secretary has left the door open to wealthier households paying more for the BBC as she considers alternatives to the licence fee.
Lisa Nandy told the PA news agency she could be open to replacing the flat licence fee with a sliding scale after a suggestion by the BBC’s new chairman.
Samir Shah, who took over as chairman in March last year, told the Sunday Times he would be in favour of a more progressive way of paying for the corporation, saying: “Why should people who are poor pay the same as people in wealthy households?”
Ms Nandy told PA: “We are keen that whatever we do in the charter review that it commands broad public support and that it is progressive.
“The licence fee is a flat rate. It’s harder for poorer households to pay it and we’ve seen some horrendous cases where the BBC has prosecuted mainly vulnerable women for not paying the licence fee.
“We think that’s completely unacceptable.”
In November last year, Ms Nandy said the Government would use a review of the BBC’s royal charter to consider alternative ways of funding the corporation.
So far, she has only ruled out using general taxation to fund the BBC, saying this would leave it too open to interference from the government of the day, and insisted the public should be involved in decisions on the licence fee.
She told PA: “I think it’s too early to be speculating about the right approach. I think it’s important that both the BBC and the Government are respectful of the fact that this has to be a public conversation.
“The BBC doesn’t belong to the Government or the BBC, it belongs to the people of this country, and they have to be central to the conversation about how we safeguard its future, not just for the next decade but well into the latter half of this century.”
The Government has committed to increasing the licence fee in line with inflation each year until 2027, starting with a rise from £169.50 to £174.50 next month.
That rise follows years in which the licence fee was first frozen and then increased at a slower rate than the BBC expected, leaving the corporation increasingly cash-strapped.
Other options suggested for funding the BBC include a subscription model, but Mr Shah said it “would not meet the BBC’s key role to offer something for everyone in the country”.
