A major update has been given on TV licence payments after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport issued an update on the licence fee.
The Government is set to launch the review of the BBC's Charter, looking at how it should be funded, after committing to increasing the licence fee in line with inflation each year until 2027.
In April, there was a rise from £169.50 to £174.50 in the household charge, after 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 amid rising inflation.
Some have called for the licence fee to be ditched - and with commentators saying it doesn't reflect how young people in particular consume media these days. In a new parliamentary written question
Sorcha Eastwood, an Alliance MP asked ecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy: "To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that the TV licence payment structures are (a) transparent, (b) proportionate and (c) accessible to people who cannot afford to pay the licence fee in one lump sum."
The question came as a campaign to fund free TV licences for all pensioners neared a key threshold. A petition on the Parliament website has almost reached 10,000 signatures, meaning the government will be forced to make an official response. It says: "We want the Government to fund free TV licences for existing pensioners and those who reach the official retirement age. When people reach retirement age, we think they should receive a state-financed free TV licence.