What was claimed
The BBC is increasing the licence fee by £3.
Our verdict
The licence fee is increasing by £3 a year but it is the government and not the BBC which sets the fee.
The government sets the licence fee, not the BBC
“The BBC is increasing the licence fee by £3 from April 1.”
The Sun (print edition), 4 February 2020
On Monday the BBC announced that the licence fee would increase by £3 to £157.50 a year. But it’s not accurate to suggest that this was a decision the BBC made itself.
The level of increase is as a result of a decision by the government in 2016 which announced that from 2017/18 the licence fee would rise in line with inflation.
At the time, the government said “this will provide the BBC with the funding it needs to thrive and deliver against its updated mission and purposes.”
Inflation in the year to September 2019 was measured at 2%, and so the licence fee is increasing from £154.50 to £157.50 (1.9%).
Join 72,953 people who trust us to check the facts
Sign up to get weekly updates on politics, immigration, health and more.
Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.
The Sun did clarify this but its headline and first paragraph, which suggest the BBC and not the government sets the licence fee, are misleading.