Eight things that are going up in price next week – and six major boosts to Britons’ pockets
1 April (next Monday) is nicknamed National Price Hike Day, as it’s when government bodies and private companies traditionally increase the cost of goods and services ahead of the new financial year.
So what can we expect this year?
TV and broadband
BT, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone customers will be charged 7.9% more from April. These companies pin their prices to December’s inflation figure plus 3.9%, which is common practice in the industry.
Virgin Media and O2, which merged in 2021, are upping prices by 8.8%, as they use the retail price index from January plus 3.9%. There are caveats which mean some O2 customers will see prices rise by less than this.
Sky is also implementing price rises, meaning most Sky TV and broadband customers will pay an average of 6.7% more from 1 April.
Council tax
Most people who live in councils with responsibility for social care in England will see their bills rise by the maximum of 4.99%.
In areas where the councils don’t oversee social care, the rise for most will be 2.99%.
Birmingham City Council, which has declared effective bankruptcy, has been given permission to hike council tax by 21% over two years due to a black hole caused partly by equal pay claims and a botched IT systems rollout.
Council tax has been frozen by the devolved government in Scotland, while rises in Wales range anywhere from 3% to 21%. Northern Ireland uses a rating system instead of council tax, and rises are also expected here.
TV licence
The annual cost of a standard colour TV licence will rise to £169.50 from 1 April – an increase of £10.50 on the current price of £159 a year.
Rent for social housing
The CPI rate of inflation in September – 6.7% – is used to determine the yearly rise in rents.
For 2024-25, the limit will be 6.7% plus an additional 1%.
Water
The average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales will go up by an average of 6% from April.
Water UK said the increases would leave households with an average annual bill of £473.
Car tax
Vehicle excise duty will rise on all but the cleanest new and used cars in April.
Increases are generally calculated in line with the RPI rate of inflation and are expected to be about 6%.
Train fares
Rail fares will rise by 8.7% in April for those in Scotland, after the Scottish government argued previous fare freezes were not sustainable.
For those in England and Wales, fares rose by 4.9% on 3 March.
Stamps
The Royal Mail will raise the price of stamps again as the company struggles with a decline in the number of letters being posted.
The price of a first class and second class stamp will increase by 10p to £1.35 and 85p respectively from 2 April.
It’s not all bad news in April
National insurance
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the budget earlier this month that the starting rate for NI will change from 10% to 8% from 6 April.
This will benefit 27 million workers, he said, and is worth about £450 a year to an employee on an average salary of £35,000.
NI for two million self-employed workers is also being cut.
Their rate will fall from 8% to 6%. The government says that is worth £350 to a self-employed person earning £28,200.
Child benefit
The amount people can earn before child benefit is reduced or taken away is increasing.
At the moment, people lose 1% of the benefit for every £100 they earn over £50,000. At £60,000, the benefit is cut completely.
From April, the benefit won’t be reduced until one parent earns more than £60,000. And it will only go completely at £80,000.
Benefits
Benefits and tax credits that are linked to inflation will rise by 6.7% in April.
That was the level CPI in September.
For joint claimants over the age of 25, universal credit standard allowances will rise from £578.82 to £617.60 per month.
Pensions
The basic and new state pension will rise by 8.5% in April – to £11,502 a year.
The new state pension is for those reaching state pension age on or after 6 April 2016. It will rise to £221.20 a week – up from £203.85.
Minimum wage
The National Minimum Wage for those 21 and over will rise to £11.44 – an increase of £1.02, or 9.8%.
There are larger percentage increases for younger age groups -as well as a 21.2% rise for apprentices (going up to £6.40).
Energy price cap
From 1 April to 30 June this year the price paid by a typical household that uses electricity and gas will go down to £1,690 a year.
This is £238 a year lower than the price cap between 1 January and 31 March this year.
