The BBC has published the Television Licence Fee Trust statement for 2024-25. Gareth Davies, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), has issued a clean audit opinion, providing assurance to Parliament on the financial statements.

Here we share highlights from his Section 2 report on the BBC’s arrangements for assessment, collection and proper allocation of the licence fee. You can read the full report in context in the Television Licence Fee Trust Statement.

See also BBC Group Accounts 2024-25

Summary

The BBC’s Royal Charter requires that its board ensures the BBC’s arrangements for collecting licence fees are “efficient, appropriate and proportionate”. The BBC has been responsible for licence fee collection, issuing TV licences and enforcing the system since 1991. Everyone in the UK needs a TV licence if they view, record or download ‘licensable content’, that is:

  • programmes as they are being shown live on any channel, paid for TV service or foreign channel (via satellite or online streaming);
  • live streams through an on-line TV service; and
  • all BBC content on BBC iPlayer and S4C.

The BBC publishes two reports annually about how it collects and uses licence fee income: the TV Licence Fee Trust Statement which sets out how licence fee income is collected; and the BBC Group Annual Report and Accounts which sets out how the BBC spends its income, including that derived from the licence fee. Both are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).

Under Section 2 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921, the C&AG is also required to assess the adequacy of the BBC’s arrangements for assessment, collection and proper allocation of the licence fee. This report is our commentary on the BBC’s collection of the licence fee in 2024- 25. It sets out our findings and conclusions about the sums that the BBC has collected from licence fee payers in the past year and the BBC’s work in 2024-25 to ensure collection of licence fee income is efficient, appropriate and proportionate, including its estimate of licence fee evasion.

Key findings

Our key findings are summarised below. For the context and evidence behind them, see the C&AG’s full Section 2 report.

Collecting the licence fee

  • Licence fee income increased in 2024-25 for the first time since 2021-22. In 2024-25, net licence fee income increased by £183 million (5.0%) to £3,843 million compared with £3,660 million in 2023-24.
  • The rise in income from the higher licence fee has been partially offset by a fall in the number of paid-for TV licences.
  • UK broadcasters – including the BBC – are continuing to lose their audience share.
  • In 2024-25, the BBC’s main contractor remained behind schedule in delivering IT upgrades.

Maximising licence fee income

  • Estimated licence fee evasion has increased to 12.52% in 2024-25.
  • The BBC’s analysis suggests that the increase in evasion is primarily due to a reduction in customers consumption of BBC and other licensable content.
  • The BBC has successfully streamlined applying for a free over-75 licence for eligible customers.
  • The BBC is expanding its support for households struggling to pay the licence fee.
  • In 2024-25, the BBC expanded its team dedicated to retaining customers.
  • The BBC has a duty to enforce payment of the licence fee and has increased the number of visits to properties where there is no record of a licence.
  • The BBC is preparing for the Charter review process, ahead of the end of the current Charter in December 2027.

Comptroller and Auditor General’s conclusion

I drew on several data sources to reach my conclusion. They were:

  • the Television Licence Fee Trust Statement 2024-25 which sets out licence fee income collected;
  • the BBC Group Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 which sets out how the BBC spends its income, including that derived from the licence fee, and records the costs of collecting the licence fee; and
  • BBC and TVL documents, and interviews with their staff.

In fulfilling my statutory duties under the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921, while recognising that no collection system can ensure that everyone meets their obligation to purchase a licence, I conclude that in 2024-25 the BBC had framed adequate regulations and procedures to secure an effective check on the assessment, collection and proper allocation of licence fee revenue, and that these regulations and procedures are being duly carried out. This assurance is subject to the observations on specific aspects of the administration of the licence fee in this report and my other reports to Parliament.

In addition to my statutory duties under the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921, I have concluded that, based on the number of paid-for TV licences:

  • the figures in the BBC TV Licence Fee Trust Statement (the Trust Statement) are true and fair; and
  • the income and expenditure recorded in the Trust Statement are in line with the purposes Parliament intended and the framework of authorities.

Like all UK broadcasters, the BBC faces challenges in maintaining its audience share as consumption patterns change, and particularly as younger audiences switch to online platforms. Although licence fee income increased in 2024-25 due to the increased cost of the licence fee, this was partially offset by a fall in the number of paid-for TV licences. The number of households who declared that they do not need a licence as they do not watch licensable content has continued to increase, as has the estimated evasion rate, which now represents up to £550 million of lost income to the BBC. The BBC is aiming to increase licence fee sales and customer retention through its value strategy – clearly communicating the value that the TV licence offers, and responding to changes in audience behaviour by strengthening its digital-first approach. In order to secure licence fee income and deliver its future strategy, the BBC needs to convince customers of the value delivered by the BBC and ensure that it delivers licensable content to an increasingly online audience.

Television Licence Fee Trust Statement for 2025

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