Pact CEO, Nigel Warner, told the Creative Cities Convention in Liverpool that there should be a more open debate on the future of BBC funding as part of the ongoing Charter Review.
He added that a “lower fee, wider net” universal household levy may provide a more stable funding model for the future.
He pointed to international models, such as those in Germany, Italy and Norway, which demonstrated how an approach could be implemented in the UK.
“Pact supports the introduction of a household levy to make the BBC sustainable for the longer term,” he said.
“The debate on this should be open, not closed down at the outset. We need to be realistic about what can be done in the time the Government has left on this Charter, but public engagement in an open and frank conversation is essential. Pact also supports a perpetual BBC Charter, but the BBC must continue to be held accountable to Parliament, the public and regulators.”
Pact is the trade body for independent production and distribution companies in the UK.
The organisation wrote in its submission to the Government’s Green Paper on the BBC Charter Review, that reform of the licence would be necessary to offer “long-term security and certainty to enable the BBC to make investment and commissioning decisions.”
It stated that it believed that “universality must be maintained as a key principle, which will allow PSB programmes to be available to everyone, free at the point of use.”
