Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which regulations set the frequency and amount of instalments by which TV licence fees can be paid; what are the prescribed (1) weekly, (2) monthly, and (3) quarterly, instalment amounts of such fees; and whether those instalments can be paid by cheque.

The payment instalment schemes for the TV licence fee are set out in the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004.

Schedule 2 of the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 detail the instalment amounts and their frequency as prescribed by each instalment scheme.

It is the BBC, not the government, that administers these schemes and is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee, including methods of payment. TV Licensing’s website explains that, at present, only annual licence fee payments can be made by cheque: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay-for-your-tv-licence/ways-to-pay/cheque-or-postal-order.