The white paper also proposes that BBC regulation is passed on to Ofcom, which now supervises its commercial rivals.
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The current charter, which runs through the end of this year, ran for 10 years.
The major shake-up of the broadcaster was revealed as Culture Secretary John Whittingdale announced the changes.
At the Baftas on Sunday night, Wolf Hall director Peter Kosminsky hit out at the Government, saying it was trying to “eviscerate” the BBC, and adding that he felt now “is a unsafe time for broadcasting in Britain”.
“Our plans will mean that the BBC will keep making great programmes we love and will continue to thrive in the future”. In its place will be a unitary board, consisting of 12-14 members, with the BBC responsible for appointing half of the members. It expects the new 11-year Charter to be effective from January 1, 2017.
As widely predicted, the White Paper proposes abolishing the BBC Trust.
And in a victory for Sir Lenny Henry there will be a new requirement in the Charter to “enshrine diversity” and make sure the BBC reflects the “nation it serves”.
In a series of BBC reforms the Culture Secretary John Whittingdale will also pave the way for the introduction of a separate subscription for the streaming device.
Lord Lester said: “Nothing should be done in the White Paper which affects the BBC funding from the licence fee”.
The white paper also states that the licence fee will rise over the next five years in line with inflation.
The White Paper also confirms the deal the BBC made with the government a year ago where it will take on responsibility for TV licences for the over 75s.
The Government is also closing the BBC iPlayer loophole, by extending the license to include viewers watching BBC content on catch-up through the iPlayer or other digital platforms.
The BBC has already been forced cut jobs and budgets in an austerity drive after agreeing a year ago to pay the £600 million annual cost of providing free television licences for people aged over 75, which had been previously funded by the government.
“The government thinks there is a case for iPlayer to require verification – i.e. access should be conditional upon verification of licence fee payment – so that individuals in other countries, and those in the United Kingdom not paying the fee, can not access licence fee funded content for free”.
Ms Maria Eagle, media spokesman for the main opposition Labour Party, accused Mr Whittingdale of “ideologically-driven meddling”.
Brian Cox was just one of the well-known names to speak out. “It would be a great travesty if the same old people, in the same old Westminster village, occupy the same old roles”.
Mr Whittingdale replied: “Appointments to the board is something that obviously is made clear tomorrow”.
The BBC has said the reports are speculation and a statement added: “People know we have been carrying out a review into our online services”.
“We reject the suggestion that today’s White Paper gives the BBC certainty. We expect the BBC board to consider the best interests of viewers – giving them a choice and variety of shows to watch, and carefully consider any potential undue negative impacts of its scheduling decisions”.
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Whittingdale – who is speaking to the Commons now – said the Trust was “no longer fit for purpose” and said it was unclear where the division of responsibilities came between the governance body and the broadcaster’s board.
