The BBC has launched a significant TV licence consultation, inviting UK households to share their opinions in what’s being described as the broadcaster’s “biggest ever public engagement exercise” The corporation is seeking audience input through the ‘Our BBC, Our future’ questionnaire, ahead of the upcoming review of its Royal charter, which outlines the BBC’s mission, public purposes, and funding model.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie commented on the initiative: “The BBC belongs to all of us and we all have a say in its future.”
He encouraged participation by saying, “By taking part in this short questionnaire, people will be able to tell us what they want the BBC to offer, what we do well, what we could do better and what they want us to focus on in years to come.”
Davie added, “I hope as many people as possible take a few minutes to tell us what really matters to them and how we can best play our part.” The broadcaster aims to gather up to one million responses, making it a historic effort for public engagement, reports Birmingham Live.
The questionnaire also prompts respondents to consider questions such as “what the BBC should provide overall?”, “how you feel the BBC is doing now?”, and “what the BBC should stand for in the future?” In a related update, the BBC licence fee is set to resume its increase in line with inflation from next year, marking the first rise in three years.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced that from April next year, the cost of an annual BBC licence fee will increase by £5 to £174.50. This is in line with the average consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation of 2.96% between October 2023 and September 2024.
The rise in the licence fee comes after a two-year freeze and a below-inflation increase set by the government for this year that limited the increase to £10.50 as the rate of annual inflation soared.
