MPs demand BBC licence fee is cut and extended to all households whether they watch TV or not

From the Newshound archive · first published 1 October 2026 · last updated 2 October 2026.

A parliamentary committee has branded the current £180-a-year BBC licence fee "outdated and no longer fit for purpose" and is pushing for it to be reduced and extended to cover all BBC services rather than television alone. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee published wide-ranging recommendations ahead of the Government drawing up its plans for the next BBC royal charter, which will govern the corporation from 2028. The report could mean millions who have abandoned traditional TV paying the fee for the first time. MPs also want the BBC's charter made permanent, arguing that the decade-long renewal cycle invites political interference.

The committee called for political appointments to the BBC board to be scrapped and the corporation's chair to be selected independently.

MPs rejected a full universal household levy — which would require every household to contribute regardless of whether they use the BBC — but said any broadening of the fee must be accompanied by a lower price tag.

The DCMS said renewing the charter every ten years "creates a disproportionate distraction for the BBC" and hands politicians undue leverage over the corporation.