The MP for Maldon has told the House of Commons "we will still need public service broadcasting" in response to confirmation that the BBC's funding will be frozen for the next two years.

Conservative MP John Whittingdale, who was culture secretary from 2015 to 2016 and media minister for 18 months until September last year, questioned culture secretary Nadine Dorries on the future of the BBC in the House of Commons on Monday (17 January).

He noted that the number of TV licences purchased fell by 700,000 last year, and said "more and more young people are now saying that they don't need to watch the BBC because of the enormous amount of choice through the streaming services."

But he continued: "Does she agree that, even despite that increase in content, we will still need public service broadcasting and the BBC, and therefore it is right to have a debate about the future funding model - not to undermine the BBC, but to ensure that it can survive going forward?"

Mr Whittingdale's comments come as Ms Dorries confirmed the BBC's licence fee will be frozen at £159 until April 2024, bringing about cuts to the broadcaster's output.

The fee will then rise in line with inflation for the next four years.

The existence of the fee, which pays for BBC services including TV, radio, podcasts, iPlayer, the BBC website and apps, is guaranteed until at least 31 December 2027 by the BBC's royal charter.

Ms Dorries said the Government could "not justify extra pressure on the wallets of hardworking households".

But she repeated that no final decision had been made on the future of the licence fee, saying: "It is not a policy - we are announcing a debate and a discussion.

"The decision as to what the future funding model looks like is up for discussion."

In response to Mr Whittingdale's comments, she said: "The BBC is a national institution - how do we maintain the BBC?

"The question is not: do we or don't we have a BBC? The question going forward is: how do we fund the BBC moving forward?"