Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 8
56th Report - BBC Accounts and Trust Statement 2024–25
Published 21 Nov 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee BBC Accounts and Trust Statement 2024-25 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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 per officer (from 7,660 to 8,670). However, this increase did not lead to a proportional rise in households interviewed under caution or purchasing a licence. In addition, the number of people taken to courts for licence fee evasion has fallen by 17.3% year-on-year from December 2023 to December 2024, continuing a long-term decline since 2017.10 The BBC noted that it has become harder to get people to answer their doors compared to five years ago, which limits the enforcement effectiveness. It also said that it has moved towards a more marketing-led approach, including targeted communications and improving customer understanding of licensable activities to ensure that people stay licensed.11 In response to our question about how their enforcement is incentivised the BBC explained that it prioritised customer service over aggressive enforcement, ensuring that customers are treated fairly and that enforcement activities are proportionate.12
From: Public Accounts Committee, 56th Report - BBC Accounts and Trust Statement 2024–25 (HC 1230), 21 November 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifty-sixth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 21 January 2026).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifty-sixth report from Session 2024-26
Published 19 January 2026.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The BBC's response agrees with some recommendations, partially agrees with others and disagrees with the recommendation to report on targets for reducing "no-licence needed" declarations and evasion.
- On licence fee collection, the BBC agrees with modernising collection and enforcement for online viewing, but says it is not "currently practical to set a firm timeline".
- It disagrees with reporting progress against targets for "no-licence needed" declarations and evasion, saying "an evasion target is not considered appropriate" and a target for NLNs would not be appropriate.
- On digital licences, the BBC agrees and "will consider the regulatory aspects and practicalities" of making an e-licence the default, with an update in the Licence Fee Trust Statement for 2025/26.
- On commercial returns, the BBC partially agrees, saying it "will ensure" BBC Commercial's overall returns including dividends are published annually in its Annual Report and Accounts, with a target date of 2026.