Earlier this year the government announced an increase in the TV Licence price startin in April. 

From today (April 1 2021) the annual price of a TV licence will be £159, an increase from the previous price of £157.50.

Meanwhile the cost of an annual black and white licence will rise from £53.00 to £53.50.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) laid a Statutory Instrument to Parliament in Februrary, introducing the licence fee increase.

The increase has been calculated by Government using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation, measured as the average rate of CPI over the last 12 months to September 2020.

The rise in price will mean the TV licence will now cost households 43p per day and will include all BBC TV and radio channels including BBC iPlayer; the audio app BBC Sounds; the BBC website, nine national TV channels plus regional programming; 10 national radio stations, 40 local radio stations as well as dedicated radio services.

Following the Government confirming the licence fee increase, people will receive a reminder or an updated payment plan reflecting the new amount when their licence is next due for renewal.

Those buying or renewing a licence after 1 April 2021 will pay the new fee. Those already buying a licence on an instalment scheme which started before 1 April 2021, such as monthly direct debit or weekly cash payments, will continue to make payments totalling £157.50 until their licence comes up for renewal.

Anyone buying a new licence before 1 April 2021 will also pay the current rate.

There are a number of ways to pay for your TV Licence including weekly cash payments and an annual direct debit.

The price hike comes as the TV Licence was deemed to have “limited shelf life” by the Digital, Culture Media and Sport select committee (DCMS) chairman.

But MPs have concluded Britain may be stuck with the licence fee until 2038.

The UK Government’s pledge to supply full-fibre broadband to every home by 2025 was downgraded to 85 per cent in November and without it there is no viable alternative to the licence fee, MPs concluded.

A subscription-based alternative would require all households to be online before the next BBC Charter for 2028-2038, which is unlikely according to the DCMS.

Committee chairman, Julian Knight, said: "It's clear that the BBC TV licence fee has a limited shelf life in a digital media landscape. However, the Government has missed the boat to reform it.

"Instead of coming up with a workable alternative, it has sealed its own fate through a failure to develop a broadband infrastructure that would allow serious consideration of other means to fund the BBC.”