Millions of people are facing increases in council tax, energy prices and other costs from April. The start of the new financial year means many households will see a rise in wages, benefits and pensions as they grapple with the effects of the cost of living crisis.
The national living wage and minimum wage are both rising from April 1, meaning more take-home pay for working people. You can read more about that here. Benefits are also being uplifted by 10% in line with last September's inflation figure, although experts have warned deduction increases could wipe out some of that extra money. You can read more about that here.
Pensioners are also set to benefit, with state pension rising by 10%. You can read the new pension rates here and sign up for our twice-weekly money newsletter bringing you all the latest news and tips here.
Read more: DWP announces date millions will start receiving £301 cost of living payment
But despite these rises, customers are also facing higher bills. As well as food costs which rose by double figures in February, there are also increases coming up for council tax, energy prices, phone contracts and more. Here is everything you need to know about what costs are rising in April and how much they are going up.
Council tax
Council tax is set to rise in every part of Wales later this week. Economic pressures have left local authorities across Wales with a £500m funding gap and there are fears that vital services could be cut as a result. The increases vary depending on where you live - for example, in Torfaen council tax is only rising by 1.95%, but it is rising by 9.9% in Conwy.
In some cases, for those with homes in the most common tax bands, the increase could mean more than £100 extra onto your bill in 2023/24. To check how much council tax is rising where you live, see our all-Wales guide here.
Energy prices
Energy prices this winter compared to last were up around 100% following successive increases which prompted the UK government to introduce its energy price guarantee last year, capping the typical bill at £2,500 to ease pressure on households.
But for most people, bills will be going up in April. This is because, although the UK government confirmed it would keep the guarantee at £2,500 for another three months - it had been due to rise to £3,000, sparking fears more people would be plunged into poverty - customers will lose the government's £400 discount off bills, which runs out at the end of March having given households money off their bill since October.
MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis explained in March that this would impact bills, saying: ""So in practice you will pay more, just not as much more as you were paying. And especially for those with lower usage where that £66 was a disproportionate boost. Because if you're a lower user it had a bigger effect. This is going to feel a big loss when it comes to April."
It's not all bad news though. As it stands, energy bills are expected to fall even further in July, with consultancy firm Cornwall Insight currently predicting the price cap - which regulated the maximum a household could pay for their bills until it was replaced by the government's guarantee - will be £2,201 in July- well below the planned £3,000 guarantee from that date.
Broadband and mobile
Millions of mobile phone and internet users are also facing an increase in their bills from April, when many providers raise their prices in line with the consumer price index (CPI) plus an additional 3-3.9%. As these price rises are often applied mid-contract, people either have to accept these new prices or pay costly exit fees to leave their contract early.
According to MoneySavingExpert, this is how much the main providers will hike their bills in April. In each case this mainly refers to broadband, landline, mobile and TV users. Full exemptions can be found on the MoneySavingExpert website:
- BT - 14.4% for all BT broadband, landline, mobile and TV users from March 31
- EE - 14.4% for all BT broadband, landline and mobile users from March 31
- O2 - Up to 17.3% for pay-monthly and Sim-only users with mobiles, tablets and/or smart watches who took out a deal or upgraded from March 25, 2021 from April 1
- Sky - 8.1% on average for all broadband and TV users from April 1
- TalkTalk - 14.2% for broadband and landline users / 10.5% for Fixed Price Plus customers out of minimum contract period from April 1
- Three - 14.4% for broadband and mobile users who joined on or after November 1, 2022 fro April 1
- Virgin Media - 13.8% on average for broadband, landline and TV users from April 1
- Vodafone - 14.4% for mobile, tablet or smart watch users who signed up between December 8, 2020 and 23 February 23, 2023 from April 1
Rail prices
Announced earlier this year and already in effect, Transport for Wales' regulated tickets such as some commuter season tickets, some off-peak returns and some anytime tickets increased by 5.9% on March 5. In recent years, rail fares have increased annually in line with the rate of inflation, which could have been an increase of 12.3%. Deputy Transport Minister Lee Waters said the Welsh government had "tried to keep the increase as low as possible" by capping the increase at 5.9% Plaid Cymru said the rise was one of the highest on record and would put more pressure on "struggling households".
The increases make some short trips more expensive, such as:
- A single ticket from Cardiff to Newport now costs around £6, up from £5.70
- A single ticket from Carmarthen to Swansea now costs £11.30, up from £10.70
A single ticket from Ebbw Vale Town to Newport costs £5.20 up from £5
A single ticket from Merthyr to Cardiff costs £5.20, up from £5
A single ticket from Pontypridd to Cardiff costs £5.20, up from £5
A single ticket from Aberystwyth to Machynlleth now costs £7.90, up from £7.50
You can read how much prices have gone up in Wales here.
Water
In February, Welsh Water announced that their customers will see a £14 increase in their bills from April. This means the average bill for a household will be £499 a year, making it the second highest in Wales and England. Welsh Water said the rise is due to the significant increase in the rate of inflation, which is running at a 40 year high. As a result, the not-for-profit company has launched a new scheme that will allow some households that qualify for the exemption to receive a three month 'change free' period.
Bosses also announced there will be "significant bill increases" for Welsh Water customers in order to tackle pollution in rivers in the future. You can read more about that here.
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