BBC Accounts and Trust Statement 2024-25

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 10 Jul 2025 Parliament page
An average 85% of UK adults use the BBC each week, spending 6hr26min watching BBC TV/iPlayer. In 2023-24, there were 23.9 million TV licences in force at the end of the year, around 775,000 of which were free licences for those aged over 75. In 2023, the value of the … Read more
6 Recommendations
26 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
3 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 7 events
14 May
2026
Correspondence
27 Apr
2026
Correspondence
16 Mar
2026
Correspondence
19 Jan
2026
Report published
21 Nov
2025
Report published
15 Sep
2025
Oral evidence
15 Sep
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
15 Sep 2025
View on parliament.uk
Leigh Tavaziva · BBC Shirley Cameron · BBC Tim Davie CBE · BBC
Title HC No. Published Items Response
56th Report - BBC Accounts and Trust Statement 2024–25 HC 1230 21 Nov 2025 32 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
2 Conclusion Deferred
56th Report - BBC Accounts and Tru…
Set timeframe for digital licences and outline plans to enhance customer engagement and reduce evasion.
The BBC has not adopted opportunities to digitise the licence fee, resulting in missed opportunities for cost efficiency and more customer engagement. The cost of collecting the licence fee is rising, partly because of the BBC’s reliance on postal correspondence … Read more
Government Response
The BBC partially agreed, explaining its existing processes for Capita contract management and rejecting the use of incentives for income or evasion reduction as inappropriate. It did not commit to setting a timeframe for digital licences or outlining plans to capture customer email addresses.
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Deferred
56th Report - BBC Accounts and Tru…
BBC faces over £1.1 billion in lost income from licence fee evasion and declarations.
Potential lost income for the BBC in 2024–25 is estimated to exceed £1.1 billion. Licence fee evasion increased to 12.52%, up from 12.04% in 2023–24, representing up to £550 million in lost revenue. The BBC did not set a target … Read more
Government Response
The government responded by discussing measures related to 'Britain’s illegal meat crisis,' biosecurity at the border, and animal vaccine development, entirely unrelated to the BBC or licence fee evasion.
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion Deferred
56th Report - BBC Accounts and Tru…
Increased licence fee enforcement visits yield disproportionately low licence purchases and court cases.
The BBC increased enforcement of the licence fee system by carrying out nearly 2 million visits to unlicensed households in 2024–25, about 50% more than in 2023–24, driven by a rise in visiting officers (from 172 to 229) and visits … Read more
Government Response
The government responded by outlining strategies and actions related to animal vaccine availability and development, entirely unrelated to BBC licence fee enforcement.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Deferred
56th Report - BBC Accounts and Tru…
BBC's digital account data cannot directly support licence fee enforcement activities.
We queried why digital audience engagement through the accounts necessary to use iPlayer cannot support more digital licence fee enforcement activities. The BBC told us that its household-address based licensing system does not match individual based BBC account data, so … Read more
Government Response
The government responded by outlining work related to a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU and strengthening resilience to animal disease, entirely unrelated to BBC iPlayer or licence fee enforcement.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Deferred
56th Report - BBC Accounts and Tru…
Many households still receive paper licences; BBC lacks specific target for electronic issuance.
We asked the BBC why a large minority of households still received a paper licence and what the BBC was doing to accelerate the shift online. The BBC explained that physical licences were issued by default unless customers opted into … Read more
Government Response
The BBC will consider the regulatory aspects and practicalities of making an e-licence the default position and will give an update on this in the Licence Fee Trust Statement for 2025/26.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 31 of 6 classified
Accepted 8
Accepted in Part 9
Acknowledged 8
Deferred 5
Rejected 1
Total 6 recs + 26 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
14 May 2026 To committee Letter from the Director, Across the UK at the BBC relating to BBC’s Implementation of Across the UK, 25 March 2026
Parliament page
27 Apr 2026 To committee Letter from the Chief Operating Officer at the BBC relating to BBC accounts and trust statement, 16 April 2026
Parliament page
16 Mar 2026 From committee Letter to the Director General of the BBC relating to Treasury Minute response: BBC Accounts and Trust Statement 2024-25, 16 March 2025
Parliament page