THE price of the BBC TV licence will rise by £3 from April 1 – increasing the cost from £154.50 to £157.50.

In 2016 the UK Government stated the price would rise every year for five years to coincide with inflation.

However, there is added controversy over the fee this year, as over-75’s across the UK will have to fork out the full amount for a TV licence, whereas previously they would have tuned in for free.

Read more: Petrol and diesel car sales ban brought forward by five years

The new price works out at £13.13 per month and pays for BBC services including nine national TV channels, 10 national radio stations plus local radio and websites, as well as the BBC Sounds app and BBC iPlayer.

Nicky Morgan, UK culture secretary, will hold a meeting this week to look at whether non-payment of the hotly-debated fee should be decriminalised.