Last month, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries confirmed that the BBC TV licence fee would be frozen at £159 for two years, until 2024, after which it will rise in line with inflation for the following four years.
UK inflation hit a fresh 30-year high after rising further in January as the UK remains in the grip of a tightening cost of living squeeze. Official figures revealed that Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation reached 5.5% in the first month of 2022, up from 5.4% in December and again reaching the highest level since March 1992, when it stood at 7.1%.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the cost of clothes and footwear pushed inflation higher last month, with the smallest January discounts in shops since 1990. But inflation is soaring across the economy, with sky-high energy costs expected to drive CPI to 7.25% in April – the highest level since August 1991.
