A planned BBC TV Licence fee increase could be scrapped in order to help with the cost of living, reports have suggested.

The TV licence currently costs households £159 for the year.

Every household in the UK is legally required to have a TV licence if they watch or record live TV, regardless of what channel it is on.

In 2022, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announced the fee would be frozen for two years before rising in 2024.

Lancashire Telegraph:

However, according to reports, ministers are looking at scrapping what would be a near 10 per cent rise, in line with inflation.

A source said: “Ministers realise a near 10 per cent rise is not exactly going to go down well, so they are looking at moving from the standard annualised inflation figure to a different, lower measure."

The projected increase would see the cost of the licence fee rise from £159 to £172.

A BBC spokesman said: "We expect the Government to calculate the licence fee rise in the autumn, in the normal way set out in the BBC Charter.

"Anything before then is speculation."

How to get a BBC TV Licence refund

If you have already purchased a TV licence but do not watch or record live TV, or stream BBC iPlayer, you could be entitled to a refund worth £159.

Households across the UK can apply for a refund if you won’t need your licence again before it expires, and you have at least one complete month left on it or the licence fee for you expired less than two years ago.

You can apply for a refund online here.

The amount you will be due in a refund will be worked out by TV Licensing, the organisation that issues TV licences.

They explain how they work out the amount you will be due here: “Any refund due is calculated in unused months. You must have at least one complete month left on your licence that you won’t need before it expires.

“So, you could get a refund for between one and 11 months, depending on how long you have left on your licence.

“You won’t be eligible for a refund if there is less than one month between the cancellation date and the expiry date.

“If you haven’t paid for your licence in full, its expiry date may be changed to reflect what you’ve paid.”