Governance Ministers look at increasing independence

Ministers are examining plans that would increase the BBC’s independence from politicians, including ending political appointments to its board, as part of talks over the corporation’s future.

- Michael Savage Media editor

The government is to consider overhauling the process by which the BBC has to renew its charter every decade, aiming to place it farther away from the influence of ministers.

It comes with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which is highly critical of the BBC, riding high in the polls.

Ministers will also look at changes to funding the BBC, including advertising, “a top-up subscription model” and placing older content behind a paywall after it has been freely available for a certain period.

The government has committed to looking at safeguarding the BBC’s independence after concerns over the role of board members appointed by the last Conservative administration.

The concerns emerged after a row over bias allegations that led to the resignations of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness.

The commitment comes in a government document starting the process of renewing the BBC’s charter, which will also look at the future of the licence fee as the number of people paying it continues to fall.

The number of UK households holding a TV licence has declined by 2.4m since peaking in 2017-18.