Keir Starmer keeping open mind on BBC licence fee axe
Addressing this, Culture Select Committee chair Dame Caroline challenged the Labour leader on the "regressive tax".
According to The Sun, when asked about the future of the licence fee yesterday, Keir Starmer said: 'We're going through the review and it'll obviously come to its conclusion, and we keep an open mind on what we need to do with the licence fee.
Keir Starmer said he was 'open-minded' about the future of the TV licence (Image: PA/Stefan Rousseau) "But we are working closely with the BBC.'
What is the TV licence and when was it introduced?
The TV licence is a fee paid by households that watch, record or stream any television transmissions at the same time they are being broadcast.
The fee was introduced in 1946, when TV broadcasting resumed in the aftermath of the Second World War.
This licence was originally issued by the General Post Office, which was the regulator of public communications in the UK at that time.
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How much does the licence fee cost in 2025?
According to the TV Licensing website, the price of the fee changed last April, seeing the cost of a colour licence rise to £174.50 a year.
The annual cost of the much rarer black and white TV licence is just £58.50.
Those who are blind or severely sight-impaired can apply for a 50% concession on this, meaning the colour licence costs £87.25.
There are also a number of other concessions and arrangements available for people living in certain types of residential care and for over-75s receiving Pension Credit.
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BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bowen: Why some Palestinians aren't convinced by Starmer's promise
One of the major reasons why Britain's prime minister Sir Keir Starmer - following France and then in turn followed by Canada - has a plan to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September is to turn the two-state solution into a real diplomatic plan again, instead of the empty slogan it has become since the Oslo peace process collapsed into bloodshed 25 years ago.A day driving around the West Bank is a salutary reminder of how facts created by Israel to stop that happening have been concreted into the rocky hills and valleys the Palestinians want for a success of the huge national project that Israel started days after it captured the territory in the 1967 Middle East war can be seen in Jewish settlements that now are home to more than 700,000 them there is a project that has taken almost 60 years, billions of dollars, and drawn condemnation from friends as well as enemies. It is a violation of international law for an occupier to settle its citizens on the land it has year, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory that said the entire occupation was the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is hungry for more settlements. At the end of May, the defence minister Israel Katz and the finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that 22 new settlements would be built in the West said the massive expansion, the biggest in decades, was making a "strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel and serves as a buffer against our enemies" ."This is a Zionist, security, and national response - and a clear decision on the future of the country," he to Katz was the ultra-nationalist leader Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the West Bank and believes that the land was given to the Jews by God. He is finance minister but also is effectively the governor of the West Bank with sweeping powers over called the settlement expansion a "once-in-a-generation decision" and declared: "Next step sovereignty!"Everyone in Israel, and the Palestinians in the territories, know that when Smotrich and his allies say "sovereignty" they mean wants all the land for Jews and has openly discussed finding ways of removing Palestinians. 'We were very, very scared' On hilltop after hilltop in the West Bank are settlements at different stages of their development, from well-established small towns with mature gardens and schools, to outposts with handful of caravans and a militant population of young settlers who often mix religion with extreme Jewish nationalism, firearms and sometimes deadly aggression towards their Palestinian collected by the UN and peace campaigners show that violent settlers have increased attacks on their Palestinian neighbours since the 7 October attacks.I went to see how that has affected Taybeh, an entirely Christian village of around 1,500 is a quiet place that seems to have many more houses than residents. After nearly six hard decades of Israeli occupation, more Taybeh people have been forced to emigrate than now live in the nights before the visit, settlers entered the village when most people were in bed. They burned Kamal Tayea's car and tried unsuccessfully to get into his new house, part of a pleasant development overlooking acres of olive groves. They daubed the walls with graffiti in Hebrew sprayed with red a middle-aged man reassessing whether his decision to move his family to the edge of the village was wise, is installing a network of security cameras."We were very, very scared," Kamal said. "I have children and an old mum. Our lives were threatened, and it was terrifying."I asked him whether Britain's plan to recognise Palestine would make his life any easier."I don't think so. It's a big step to have a superpower like Britain support us, but on the ground, it does not change much. Israel is not compliant with any international resolutions or laws."It does not listen to any other country in the whole world." 'Our roots are here. We can't move' During the next night, Jewish settlers raided neighbouring Palestinian communities, burning cars and spraying graffiti. It is more than just settlers want the Palestinians out and, in some places in the occupied territories, have succeeded, forcing Palestinians in remote villages out of their farms and stealing their Greek Orthodox priest, 74-year-old David Khoury was born in Taybeh. In his church he told me that settlers who have threatened him and other residents are often armed."Yes, they have guns… they'll use them if we argue with them. They want us out, they want us to leave."The old priest was defiant."We are here, since Jesus Christ, 2,000 years. Our roots are here. We can't move. We will not move, even if we die here, we will not move from here… Palestine is inside our blood, how we can live without our blood?" 'If you really seek two states, recognise [both]' It was not many miles to Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian capital of the West Bank, but I wasn't able to get there in person. Israel's checkpoints can make driving back to Jerusalem slow and difficult, so I reached Husam Zomlot via Zoom. He is the head of the Palestinian delegation to the United Kingdom, effectively their ambassador in London. He is back home for the summer and was delighted by Britain's plan to recognise Palestine."It is a sign that the UK and with it, the rest of the international community are really serious about the two-state solution. We are no longer in the business of the lip service that has lost us three decades. Actually, if you really seek two states, recognise the two states.""We see the recognition as the starting gun to a sprint towards implementing and establishing the state of Palestine and fulfilling the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."Zomlot was jubilant. It was, he said, a first step, and Britain's decision would make a real is one of the powerful drivers of this conflict. Britain, he added, was atoning at last for the wrongs it had done Palestinians when it was the imperial power here between 1917 and 1948. He was referring to the promises made in a short, typewritten letter, dated 2 November 1917, signed by the foreign secretary Arthur Balfour and addressed to Lord Rothschild, a leader of Britain's Jewish community. It was, the letter said, "a declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations".Britain would "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people".It was followed by another promise: "Nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine."He meant the majority, Palestinian Arabs, though he didn't name them, a point that, 108 years later, still rankles ZomlotAt the UN in New York this week, Britain's foreign secretary David Lammy said the UK could be proud to have helped lay Israel's foundations after 1917. But breaking the promise to Palestinians in the Balfour Declaration had, he said, caused "a historical injustice which continues to unfold".At the Knesset, Israel's parliament, Simcha Rothman, an ultra-nationalist MP from the National Religious party also had Britain's imperial past in the Middle East on his mind. The British and French had tried to fix borders before, he said, when they took the Middle East from the dying Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Britain couldn't play the imperial power like Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich, his party leader, Rothman said the plan to recognise Palestine rewarded Hamas terrorism. He rejected Starmer's offer to postpone recognition if Israel, among other conditions, agreed to a full ceasefire in Gaza and a revival of the two-state solution."He is threatening the state of Israel with punishment and thinks that's the way to bring peace to the Middle East. He is not in a position to punish us, and it definitely will not bring peace.""And it's against justice, history, religion, culture... he's giving a huge reward for Yahya Sinwar [the Hamas leader who led the 7 October attacks and was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year]."Wherever he is in hell today, he sees what Keir Starmer says - and says, 'good partner'."Back in Taybeh, I had asked a group of leading local citizens who were drinking coffee with the mayor in his office what they thought of the UK's recognition of them, a local businessman, said: "Thank you Britain. But it's too late." Top image: Getty Images BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
Metro
40 minutes ago
- Metro
The disability employment gap affects 16million of us - can the goverment fix it
When Keighley Miles was at school, it was always assumed that she wouldn't be able to find work. 'Nothing was ever mentioned about career options or further education,' the 39-year-old, who was born deaf, tells Metro. 'I can't remember ever being told that I could do whatever I wanted, or anybody talking to me about what life would be like as a deaf adult.' It's no wonder that such a lack of support left Keighley, who lives in Essex, struggling to find consistent work after leaving school – a problem compounded by difficulties communicating. 'We moved from London to Essex when I was 15, and I didn't attend school after that,' she continues. 'It led to depression and left me feeling like I wouldn't ever achieve anything in life.' 40-year-old Holly Donovan can relate, never having a full-time job. Not because they don't want one, but because they cannot find employment that accommodates their disability. 'All I want to do is work, but there aren't enough opportunities for disabled people like me,' says Holly, who uses a wheelchair due to a childhood cancer which left them with chronic pain and a metal rod in their back. 'I'm stuck only living on Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which could be cut under Labour's plans, while my partner has to support me because I can't bring any money in. I'm living in poverty, and I shouldn't be.' The difference in employment rates between disabled and non-disabled people is stark. At the end of 2024, the disability employment gap stood at 28.6% – a 1% increase from 2023. It's a breach that has remained stagnant at around 30% for three decades, and while Labour has promised to get one million people back into work, the workplace hurdles disabled people face are often complex. 'The disability employment gap exists because of a combination of systemic, structural, and cultural barriers,' explains Sue Wray, head of community for Hamelin, a disability charity focused on empowering autistic adults and people with learning disabilities. 'Then there's the issue of assumptions; too many employers still make snap judgements about someone's abilities without really understanding their strengths.' As Keighley and Holly know too well, the roots of the issue often stem way before working age. And while there's no doubt that upcoming generations have benefited from the improvement of special educational needs (SEN) education, many disabled children are still losing out on access to proper education. Talking about their school days in the late nineties, Holly tells Metro: 'There was no form of encouragement; they would just dump me in a corner, isolated, then push me to my next lesson to get dumped again. 'School was something I had to endure rather than taking anything from and nobody taught me about reasonable adjustments, so I had no idea I could ask for them at work opportunities.' When Holly did get their first work experience at a pharmacy as an assistant, it was cut short due to physical pain. 'By the end of the first week, I just burst into tears because I was in too much pain,' they say. 'That was the point when I realised that I didn't know what I was going to do because my body clearly couldn't handle traditional employment.' Research shows that approximately 28% of UK workers use a hybrid model of work, splitting time between home and the office, and around 13% of workers are fully remote. While this may feel like a step towards workplace inclusivity, Holly believes that it doesn't address the base issue: without being able to gain meaningful work placement in the first place, it's nigh on impossible to secure a job – remote or not. 'How am I ever going to compete in a job market where I'll never have the same amount of experience as an able-bodied person of the same age? Last time I went for a remote position, I was fighting against 321 people; it's no wonder that I didn't get it,' says Holly. While the rights of disabled people at work are protected under the Equality Act 2010, many are unaware that they are eligible for support. For example, the government grant scheme Access to Work helps cover additional costs for employers and employees with health issues. In 2023/24, it supported nearly 50,000 people, but the system is under immense pressure. The average wait time for assistance is currently 12 to 16 weeks, with some waiting up to 30 weeks. 'Although it can be life-changing when it works well, delays, poor communication, and inconsistent decision-making have left many unable to access the support they need,' explains Sue Wray. 'In some cases, people have had to turn down employment opportunities altogether due to waiting months for the assistance they were entitled to.' Keighley is one of the scheme's success stories. When her second son was born deaf in 2015, she wanted to lead by example and show him that he could achieve anything he wanted, so set her sights on becoming a childminder. 'In past customer service jobs, I would lose commissions because I'd have to pass clients over to colleagues when I couldn't hear them – but then I met a wonderful lady who was a childminder who offered me a job,' she says. 'Around that time, I also learned about Access to Work and realised that when the time came, I could set up my own childminding business with the right support.' Keighley has since founded her own business, which provides communication support workers for 40 hours a week, enabling her to communicate effectively with parents. But, Keighley stresses, she only found out about Access to Work after meeting other deaf adults at a group for deaf toddlers and children. 'I came across it by chance,' she says. Another government initiative, the Disability Confident scheme, encourages employers to think differently; however, Jane Hatton, CEO and founder of EvenBreak, a not-for-profit career support service for disabled people, believes it 'lacks accountability and meaningful benchmarks'. 'Disability Confident rightly acknowledges that employers must become more inclusive, she adds, 'but data shows that those employers [who have] become 'Disability Confident' don't employ more disabled people than others, so the label is largely symbolic.' EvenBreak is one of the numerous non-governmental organisations making significant efforts to close the gap by collaborating with job seekers and employers to provide support and resources that enhance inclusivity and accessibility. Hamelin is another, and has launched an initiative called Ability Works to support autistic adults and individuals with learning disabilities in securing employment. One person benefitting, is Ederson Silva, 45, who had to start from scratch following an accident that made him a wheelchair user. As the main provider for his family, Ederson had to return to work because even after 30 years of pension contributions, the support provided wouldn't cover the basic needs of his family. However, he tells Metro, he found it challenging to convince recruiters and employers of his employability. 'Vacancies for people with disabilities tend to be very limited; this was the biggest challenge, there are simply fewer opportunities,' he explains from his home in Broughton. 'I was fortunate to have over 22 years of prior experience in my field, and working in a specialised area made it more attractive for companies to value my expertise despite my disability.' After getting in touch with STEM Returners, Ederson was contacted with a 12-week placement opportunity and the scheme supported him through every step. 'At the end, I had the opportunity to become a permanent member of the team and I took it,' he adds. 'I had very little hope of being able to provide a dignified life for my family again. Now, I feel once again a respected professional in the workforce. Being able to give my family the dignity they deserve has been life-changing.' Meanwhile, Holly has joined a UK government initiative called The Work and Health Programme but admits the process is incredibly frustrating. 'It was absolute murder to try and get on it; I'd phone up the DWP hotline and most of them didn't even know the scheme existed,' Holly explains. Although the initiative helped them write a CV and get interviews, no job offers followed. 'I always get great feedback – but they still go with someone who has more experience every time,' she says. 'I feel used as part of a tick box exercise for employers to show that they've looked at disabled people for the job.' Following the announcement of Labour's numerous plans to help disabled people return to work, a DWP spokesperson told Metro: 'We are determined to bring down the disability employment gap and to do this, our £1 billion reforms will help sick or disabled out of poverty and our Keep Britain Working review will provide recommendations for government and employers on how they can better support disabled people and those with ill health who are at risk of falling out of work.' Despite this apparent will to close the gap, many experts feel the solution remains unclear. Others also warn that the government's approach does not take into account some disabled and chronically ill people. More Trending 'If we're serious about closing that gap, we need practical, properly funded support that's delivered efficiently and designed with disabled people, not just for them,' says Sue Wray. 'The Connect to Work programme [a new government initiative to help disabled people move into and maintian work] might be a step towards this, but we remain unconvinced that the level of funding is sufficient to make any significant headway, especially as providers are asked to deliver support for a very broad group of jobseekers, including people with mental health conditions, ex-offenders and care leavers, within a relatively small financial envelope.' 'The government needs to stop cutting essential support and start strengthening what already exists,' adds Jane Hatton. 'Just as importantly, the narrative needs to change. 'The idea that disabled people choose not to work is simply untrue and deeply damaging. The government should lead by example and employ more disabled people directly to show what inclusive hiring really looks like.' MORE: Want the ultimate wedding makeup? Charlotte Tilbury's bridal services are the perfect choice! MORE: SURI just dropped the ultimate oral-care bundle – and it's a must for travel MORE: Is 'powder conditioner' the secret to better hair? We unpack the waterless wonder
Times
41 minutes ago
- Times
Times letters: PM's backing for a third runway at Heathrow
Write to letters@ Sir, Your leading article ('Cleared for Takeoff', Aug 1) and the cogently argued business commentary by Alistair Osborne ('Heathrow runway is an expensive folly', Aug 1) both admit that Heathrow should not be there in the first place. Indeed, and if one is in a hole any sensible reaction would be to stop digging. We all know that the costs of £21 billion for the runway and £12 billion on top of that for another terminal will end up hugely inflated, and that the upgrades necessary for transportation to and from Heathrow will incur further enormous expenditure. Sooner or later there will be a catastrophe when an aircraft crashes on London, made all the more likely when power failures and control systems can cause such mayhem. Ministers' lip service to environmental considerations is further exposed as James Stevens CurlHolywood, Co Down Sir, You report that 'work is under way within the government to curb the ability of environmental groups and other campaigners to bring legal challenges against national infrastructure projects' ('M25 could be relocated 'overnight' to build a third Heathrow runway', Aug 1). One can only wonder what Labour would have said had the Conservatives tried to bring in such HartRickmansworth, Herts Sir, Old campaigners against a third runway at Heathrow will now have to dust off their posters and letters of protest: clearly we are all going to have to go through the old arguments again. Nothing appears to have happened to change the Department for Transport's own study. This suggested that if more airport capacity were really needed then on both economic and environmental grounds it should be at McLuskeyAshford, Middx Sir, Proposals for a third runway at Heathrow and another at Gatwick are misguided. The skies over southeast England are already overcrowded and new runways will simply increase the problem. The answer is to build a five-runway, state-of-the-art airport in the Thames Estuary, with fast rail links. This would serve our needs for the next century. Heathrow and Gatwick could then be closed down, freeing up land for much-needed PrattStorrington, W Sussex Sir, It astounds me that whenever the disruption and cost of expanding Heathrow is discussed there is never any mention of Birmingham airport. It is located in a relatively unpopulated area with a mainline rail station and good public access: it is next to motorway links and is about an hour from the capital by car or train. But of course, it's not London — silly JohnsonWolverhampton Sir, I wonder if my children will have retired by the time the third runway at Heathrow is operational? In China, or indeed France, the planning and construction would be rapidly accomplished. No one would expect that in the ValePewsey, Wilts Sir, Having seen the PM's plans for a third runway at Heathrow, perhaps Sir Humphrey should whisper in his ear: 'Remember HS2.'Martin WrightChinnor, Oxon Sir, Italians will be aware that most of the projects Edward Lucas praises in his article were actually initiated before 2022, the year Giorgia Meloni became prime minister ('Confident Italy shows us how to bounce back', comment, Jul 31). She inherited a €198 billion loan from the EU, which I suspect Rachel Reeves would welcome and do good things with. If Lucas were to come further south on holiday he would find unemployment in the eight provinces of southern Italy 10 per cent higher than the richer north that he visited. A total of 18.9 per cent of Italians live in poverty, and the figure is increasing. GDP per capita has not increased since Meloni became PM and government debt as a share of GDP has increased under her Gozi MEPFormer Italian secretary of state for European Affairs Sir, Edward Lucas's overenthusiastic assessment of Italy's thriving and booming economy overlooks the simple and very sad fact that Italy still offers very few opportunities for young people, even those with university degrees. They find it easier to find a job in a café in London than in Milan or Rome. It's still pretty impossible to get a position at an Italian university if one lacks a powerful backer. Bright scientists and academics instead flock to the US or the UK. Nasa, for example, has many Italians working there as do many Ivy League universities, as well as Oxford and Salvatore Santagati (PhD, LSE)London W1 Sir, Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Rees-Mogg may have better luck than my wife (TMS, Jul 31). A couple of years ago my wife was dropping off a bag for her brother at the Cavalry and Guards Club. The doorman took one look at the jeans she was wearing and before she could say a word politely pointed out that the RAF Club was next door.J Martin ScottShaftesbury, Dorset Sir, The fall in numbers of students studying modern languages is indeed dire (news, Jul 31; letter, Aug 1). I agree with Nick Hillman of the Higher Education Policy Institute that the withdrawal of the compulsory study of languages was 'probably the worst educational policy of this century'. A wider grasp of the heritage of Europe (and at degree level, training in cogently assembling a wide range of facts) is useful in many professions. Megan Bowler is right that a 'linguistic mindset fosters vital skills'. Indeed, many of my students leave university for successful careers in journalism and the law and are destined for the higher echelons of management and government. We will not re-establish meaningful relationships with our neighbours with the 'island mentality' that, at present, inhibits those in secondary education from an understanding of the cultural infrastructure and substratum of Bourne-TaylorAssociate professor of French, and fellow, Brasenose College, Oxford Sir, I have no doubt that AI has a part to play in making prisons safer ('AI predicts risk from violent inmates before jail attacks happen', Jul 31) but removing drugs from jails by using drug wands, sniffer boxes and DroneGuard, while disabling mobile phones and reducing overcrowding, will have a greater effect. Tasers will have an impact during riots and concerted acts of indiscipline but not on immediate acts of violence as they won't be to hand. The most effective way to reduce the risk of violence is by staff developing good relationships with prisoners. Inexperienced staff in overcrowded prisons are merely BerryRet'd prison governor, Countesthorpe, Leics Sir, Martin Samuel is right ('Rushing this Test series off stage has robbed it of the players we pay to see', Aug 1). Test matches — the pinnacle of the sport — are being wrecked by the thoughtless compression of scheduling and now we will have no cricket for a month, all to make room for a spectacle said to be crowd-pleasing and money-making, although it is curious that no other cricketing nation has shown the remotest interest in the Hundred. The ECB has done a fine job of destroying our national DykeLondon N21 Sir, I agree with David A De Saxe (letter, Aug 1) that modern bats improve batting. But surely the main reason batting has improved is the use of helmets, which enable batsmen to face fast bowling without risk of serious EvansTunbridge Wells, Kent Sir, Contrary to Raymond Gubbay's suggestion ('Albert Hall seats', letter, Jul 31), the National Lottery were on the ball. Like all seat holders, while I did gain from the lottery funding improvements I was obliged to pay a proportionate share of the GilbertMarlow, Bucks Sir, Aside from pay erosion, the incentives for resident doctors to change tack career-wise are well described (letters, Jul 28–31), but there is a new one. Why wouldn't a recently qualified doctor with a huge student debt and possibly a young family consider switching to one of the new physician assistant roles? The pay is considerably better, the post comes with job security and comprehensive senior medical supervision, and there is no need for regular exams or to move around the country every couple of years while working nights and weekends as a matter of routine. That is regardless of the intense work pressure endured by these young resident doctors daily, hundreds of whom are now finding that there are no NHS jobs for them anyway after their first two years of hospital practice (news, Jul 30). The only downside is that the NHS would soon run out of GPs and hospital RP ColeNHS consultant surgeon, Salisbury Sir, Katie Glass raises hopes for many in making a few quid from renting her home ('I'm sleeping in a caravan so I can put my cottage on Airbnb', Times2, Jul 28). Potential followers of her advice would be well advised to check with local planning requirements and their home insurance policy before proceeding. Such moves may be below the radar but not above the planning HoweRhossili, Gower Peninsula Sir, Every good wish to the new Archbishop of Wales ('Church elects gay, female archbishop', Jul 31). As well as being informed of her employment history and views on sexuality, I'm sure some of us would be glad to know whether she speaks CorkettBangor, Gwynedd Sir, My Uncle Charlie worked on the Cowes chain ferry in the 1950s and had an index and middle finger missing (letter, Aug 1). As he explained: 'I was trying to pick a stray fag packet out of the chains while we were crossing the river. I just thought I could do it, quick like.' I relayed this story to the newly promoted chain ferry master when I met him in the 1980s. 'Oh yes?', he said, holding up his three- digit right hand. 'You mean like this?'Suzie MarwoodLondon SW6 Sir, I can definitely support the theory of ditching a flashy car for a small hatchback to woo women (news, Jul 31). I owned an MG Midget in the 1960s and had no luck in attracting the right sort of woman, but on the day I swapped it for a Hillman Imp I met the woman who is now my wife. We are still happily married RussellHarpenden, Herts Write to letters@
