Ex-culture secretary blasts ‘retrograde’ plan for ‘YouTube tax’ to fund BBC

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Former culture secretary Nicky Morgan has blasted government plans to introduce a “Youtube tax” to extend the BBC licence fee to streaming platforms. The ex-Tory minister warned the proposal, aimed at safeguarding future of funding for the broadcaster, was “a retrograde step” and would put the BBC “on the wrong footing for the 21st century”. Her comments came after The Independent revealed the plan to extend the licence fee would be in a government white paper on the BBC Charter review due to be published just before Christmas. Ministers propose to extend the levy from live television to all streaming platforms including YouTube , Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV and Amazon Prime, which could force millions more to pay it. open image in gallery The BBC is renegotiating its charter ( Reuters ) Baroness Morgan has joined Nigel Farage and Independent MP Adnan Hussain in opposing the move. But it has won backing from the Tory chair of the culture, media and sport committee Dame Caroline Dinenage and another former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw. Baroness Morgan told Times Radio: “I find this absolutely an extraordinary proposal. I mean, I think that Matt Britton, the relatively new director general of the BBC, is right – the licence fee is a busted flush. It's an anachronism of a system where we had about four TV channels. Life has moved on, and people are making a decision to pay for streaming services, to pay subscription fees. “In my opinion, it's a retrograde step. I think there is an argument for saying that actually there are some programmes and channels and services that BBC does that actually now we should be saying people should pay a subscription fee for those. “Maybe there are some core services, and I think that BBC News is still very important. But don't tell me that Celebrity Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing and all those sort of things couldn't wash their face compared to other things on Netflix or Apple TV. “If this proposal does turn out to be true, it's actually putting the BBC on the wrong footing for the rest of the 21st century.” open image in gallery Baroness Nicky Morgan opposes the YouTube tax ( AFP ) The proposal has seen a backlash on social media especially to a suggestion that extra cash would be used to revive local journalism to take on misinformation which, in the view of Labour ministers, has helped push support for parties such as Reform UK. Its leader Nigel Farage told The Independent that the proposals were “deeply worrying” while one of his close allies questioned the legality of the plan. Independent MP Adnan Hussain said: “People are already paying for subscriptions to Netflix, YouTube, Sky and countless other streaming services. If the BBC is struggling to stay afloat, perhaps it’s time to scrap the archaic TV licence fee and move to a subscription-based model. Let people decide for themselves whether the BBC is worth paying for, rather than forcing everyone to fund a service they have little interest in watching. “With the cost of living already sky-high, why should ordinary people be forced to shoulder yet another financial burden to prop up an institution they neither use nor wish to support? The idea of effectively making people pay more for their existing streaming and entertainment habits to fund the BBC is completely out of touch with the financial pressures households are facing.” But Dame Caroline Dinenage pointed to her committee’s findings in a recent report which showed people are avoiding paying for the BBC despite using it. She said: “My select committee did conclude that the current license fee needs to change – 94 per cent of households use BBC monthly but only 80 per cent of households now pay it.” She added: “Also the BBC is like a skills university that the rest of these big streamers really get the benefit of it.” Another former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw said: “A device neutral broadcasting levy makes total sense in the modern media landscape and is is what successive parliamentary select committee reports have recommended. “Being more broadly based it would also allow the Government to reduce the cost per household from the current licence fee level while raising the same amount for the BBC. “Trusted, regulated public service broadcasting is more important than ever in a world where hostile state actors and mega rich tech bros try to manipulate news and information for their own ends. This would put the BBC on a sustainable footing for the next ten years and help address the crisis of local news deserts in many parts of Britain.” Labour peer Lord Jack McConnell, Andy Burnham’s adviser on soft power which includes the BBC, argued that there is a need for a public broadcaster and it has to be paid for. He said: “I think having public service broadcasting is really really important. We need to try and find a new way of funding public service broadcasting, and I do believe that a method of funding that goes beyond those who are watching mainstream TV and currently pay the licence fee, but is more evenly spread across the population, and perhaps used in a very targeted way, not just for the BBC but for other important forms of public service information.” Currently, anyone who uses a television to watch content must pay the licence fee even if they do not watch the BBC. They also pay for live television on any platform but not playback or delayed television except on BBC iPlayer. Under the proposed changes it would be expanded to cover all other online providers, such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, YouTube, which are currently exempt and all streaming content. The new arrangements have been dubbed the “YouTube tax” because the site is by far the biggest online video platform in the UK, with around 55 million users with 79 per cent penetration in the British market. It is thought that an extra 3 to 4 million households will have to pay the licence if it is extended to streaming platforms. The proposal would be a means of helping tackle the crisis facing the BBC amid fears that millions of people will stop paying the licence fee, which is currently £180 a year, but free for people aged 75 and older who receive pension credit, and 50 per cent discounted for the visually impaired.