The BBC Trust proposed today that the licence fee be frozen at its current level for the next two years despite the prospect of a substantial budget shortfall. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the government would implement the freeze next year, but would defer the decision over 2012/13 until a later date.
The trust, the corporation’s governing body, told the government that it would keep the cost of the licence fee at £145.50 and said that the on-air impact of the estimated £144 million budget shortfall would be kept “within acceptable limits.” Currently, a multi-year settlement allows the corporation to increase the fee in 2011 and 2012 but the governing body said it would not exercise that right due to the current economic climate.
The Trust, which operates independently of BBC management and external bodies, asked the corporation’s executive in June to analyse possible budget readjustments and their impact on the service’s output in the light of public spending cuts. The executive reported back earlier this month, saying that the budget shortfall would result in on-air changes.
“We recognise that the British public is facing an exceptionally tough financial climate,” BBC Trust chairman Michael Lyons said. “A freeze in income will not be pain-free, and this decision was not taken lightly. But the Trust is satisfied that the BBC can manage the impact while continuing to deliver the range of programmes and services that the public loves.”
(Source: AFP)
