How is bbc news funded

When the Guardian reported on such hearings back in , one man attempted to hand over his television to the court to avoid prosecution. Non-payment of the licence fee disproportionately affects women, with three-quarters of those prosecuted being female, perhaps because they are more likely to be at home during the day when officers visit.

This guarantees the existence of the licence fee until , and it would require new legislation to unpick this arrangement, which could be difficult and would face substantial opposition in the House of Lords. However, the level at which the licence fee is set — and therefore the amount of funding available to the BBC — is up for negotiation. The current arrangement runs out in , at which point there needs to be a new agreement between the government and the BBC for the next five-year period.

The government has said it is actively considering decriminalisation of the licence fee, an idea last floated five years ago when Sajid Javid was culture secretary.

This approach would downgrade non-payment to a civil debt, with enforcement made by TV Licensing through civil courts and enforced using bailiffs — similar to non-payment of an electricity bill. In the long run, other European countries are shifting away from licence fees and towards funding public broadcasters through general taxation. As part of the comprehensive spending review, the Government concluded that the S4C model is not sustainable in its present form and that a new partnership model with the BBC is the best way of securing the long-term future of the service.

The BBC is a long-standing partner of S4C, providing programming each year to the channel including news. The proposed model is an extension of this partnership, along similar principles to the BBC Alba service in Scotland. The S4C service will retain its brand identity and editorial distinctiveness, as well as its special relationship with the independent production sector in Wales. The total content commissioning budget will be for independent producers outside of the BBC's ongoing commitments as above.

Under the partnership, funding for S4C in future will come from three sources: the licence fee, a continued but reduced subvention from the UK Government, and commercial income. Further discussion will be required about the exact form of the partnership, and the Government will play its part in those discussions.

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