Millions of households are bracing themselves for a raft of price increases across a range of bills – from energy and water to car tax and the TV licence – that take effect on Tuesday.
With so many costs rising at once – prompting some to label this month “awful April” – the government is facing fresh calls to take action to limit the impact of some of the increases. The Liberal Democrats claimed ministers needed to “get a grip” on energy bills.
Meanwhile, consumer groups are offering advice on ways to cut costs, such as switching to a cheaper fixed energy deal or checking eligibility for council tax reductions.
The cost of gas and electricity is one of the biggest outlays for most households, and the cap on energy costs, which is set every three months by the industry regulator Ofgem, is going up by 6.4% – or £111 – on Tuesday. That takes the average annual bill to £1,849 for a typical dual-fuel household on a standard variable tariff.
This increase – the third in a row – means households will be paying about £600 a year more for their gas and electricity than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
About 9 million households that buy their energy through variable tariffs will experience an immediate impact on their bills.
The Lib Dems have published a survey they say shows the “majority of Brits think their energy bill is bad value for money” . The party’s leader, Ed Davey, added that with families facing “spiralling” costs, the government must “get a grip on energy bills, and fast”. The Lib Dems want ministers to implement an energy “social tariff” to protect vulnerable people living in fuel poverty, and also do more to help the millions of pensioners who lost their winter fuel payments last year.
Rising energy costs are putting vital youth services at risk, said Social Investment Business, a charity. It claimed that utility bills were swallowing up half the budgets of some organisations focused on children and young people.
In percentage terms, water bills are receiving some of the biggest increases: an average of 26% – or £123 – for households in England and Wales this year. That price rise takes the annual average bill from £480 to £603. However, the increase will vary significantly depending on the water company. Customers of Southern Water, which covers parts of south-east England including Hampshire and Kent, face a near-47% rise.
Council tax is another big outlay, and the average bill for a typical band D property in England will be £2,280 for 2025-26, which is up 5%, or £109, on the 2024-25 figure. However, several councils were given government permission to raise bills by more than the cap. These include Bradford in West Yorkshire, which is raising bills by 9.99%, and Newham in east London, which is increasing them by 8.99%.
In Scotland most households face a council tax rise of at least 7.5%, while the average band D increase in Wales for this year is 7.2%.
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Meanwhile, petrol and diesel car owners will pay £5 more a year in road tax, taking the standard rate cost on post-2017 vehicles to £195 a year.
The annual cost of a colour TV licence will increase by £5 on Tuesday to reach £174.50. And price rises will take effect on or around 1 April for the customers of a number of broadband and mobile phone companies. For broadband customers, the comparison website Uswitch estimated that the increases were poised to add an average of £21.99 annually for those on inflation-linked contracts, and up to £42 a year for those on newer plans taken out after rules were changed in January this year.
Responding to the Lib Dems’ comments about energy bills, the minister for energy consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said: “This is obviously a worrying time for families across the UK, which is why we remain determined to get bills down in the long term.”
She added: “As we build up our homegrown power, we are doing everything we can to support people with their bills – from proposing to expand the £150 warm home discount to around six million households next winter, to upgrading thousands of homes so they are warmer and cost less to heat.”
