The BBC licence fee will exceed £200 a year within the next five years, new figures suggest, as millions stop paying for it.

The analysis by the spending watchdog, the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR), suggests 2.7 million people will switch off from paying the licence fee by 2031/32, forcing it to rise from £180 to £202.

It comes after The Independent revealed that the government is looking at plans to force up to 4 million households to start paying it again by extending it to streaming services in a so-called “YouTube tax”.

The proposal as part of the Charter renewal, is set to be outlined in a government white paper before Christmas.

The BBC is facing a crisis in funding (Reuters)

It would mean people will need to pay the licence fee if they want to use streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Disney+.…