BBC licence fee to rise from April next year in line with inflation
The BBC licence fee will increase in line with inflation each year until 2027, the government has announced.
It will mean bills will rise by £5, or an extra 42p a month, from April next year – bringing the total cost of a TV licence to £174.50.
The hike comes after a £10.50 rise brought the charge to £169.50 in April this year.
The annual fee faced years of scrutiny under the previous government, and was frozen at £159 for two years before it was increased at a lower rate than the corporation expected.
In a statement to Parliament on Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she wanted to see the BBC “thrive for decades to come”.
She said through a review of the corporation’s Royal Charter, there would be an “honest national conversation about the broadcaster’s long-term future, ensuring the BBC has a sustainable public funding model that supports its vital work but is also fair and responsive to those who pay for it”.
Lisa Nandy told Parliament she wanted to see the BBC ‘thrive for decades’. Pic: PA
“In the short-term, we are providing the BBC with funding certainty while supporting thousands more households facing financial hardship to spread the cost of a TV licence,” Ms Nandy said.
The household payment, which funds much of the BBC’s operations, will be increased each year in line with the annual consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate.
To help households struggling with financial pressures, the government said it would expand the Simple Payment Plan (SPP), which allows those eligible to spread the cost of a licence into more manageable fortnightly and monthly instalments.
The expansion will allow an estimated additional 9,000 unlicensed households experiencing financial difficulty to pay through the SSP, the government said.
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An estimated 500,000 homes could be using the SSP by the end of 2027, according to BBC analysis.
The BBC has been under increasing financial pressure and last month revealed a raft of planned changes, including the axing of in-depth interview show Hardtalk, as it looked at reducing more than 100 news roles.
Tim Davie, director-general of the corporation, told Sky News in March that a commercial model for the licence fee would be a mistake that could leave the UK’s media market “looking exactly like America”.
A BBC spokesperson said on Friday: “We welcome confirmation that the licence fee will increase in line with inflation next year.”
They said they also looked forward to the debate about the future and that, as part of these discussions, the corporation would “run our biggest ever public engagement exercise in 2025 so that audiences are at the heart of shaping our future”.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.
The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.
The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.
Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.
Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.
Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.
Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA
The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.
Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.
The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.
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Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.
The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.
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