THE cost of the annual television licence fee will increase from £154.50 to £157.50 from April 1, the BBC has said.

The price rise of almost 2% will work out as £3.02 a week or £13.13 a month. 

It will also see the cost of an annual black and white licence rise from £52.00 to £53.00.

The BBC recently scrapped 450 jobs as part of an £80 million cost-saving programme.

The cuts mainly revolved around news output, with streamlining of bulletins which will be shared across stations. 

The Government is responsible for setting the level of the licence fee and announced in 2016 it would rise in line with inflation for five years from 1 April 2017.

Anyone who buys a TV licence from April 1 will start paying the new fee.

Anyone who is already paying in instalments such as monthly direct debit or weekly cash payments will continue to make payments totalling £154.50 until their licence comes up for renewal.