TV licence fee increased to £157.50 a year from April

The fee is set by the Government, which announced in 2016 that it would rise in line with inflation for five years from April 2017.

TV licence fee increased to £157.50 a year from April Pixabay

The annual television licence fee will increase from £154.50 to £157.50 from April 1.

The new cost equates to £3.02 a week – or £13.13 a month, according to the BBC.

The fee is set by the UK Government, which announced in 2016 that it would rise in line with inflation for five years from April 2017.

Those buying or renewing a licence after April 1 will pay the new fee.

Those already buying a licence on an instalment scheme which started before April 1, such as monthly direct debit or weekly cash payments, will continue to make payments totalling £154.50 until their licence comes up for renewal.

The price change will not currently have an impact on the free over-75s TV licence.

Last year, the channel’s director-general Tony Hall said all households without someone who receives Pension Credit will have now to pay for the licence.

From June this year, around 3.7m UK households which previously received a free licence will have to pay for one.

Last week, the BBC announced cuts to Newsnight, 5Live and other news output as part of cost-cutting plans and an effort to reach the young.

The plans to “modernise its newsroom” will lead to around 450 job cuts.

The corporation said it wanted to “reduce duplication” while making savings of £80m.

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