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Chris Knight

The 11 everyday necessities which will cost you more from April 1

'National Price Hike Day' is just around the corner and the cost of everyday items are set to rise.

Price increases will come into effect from April 1 affecting a number of bills including council charges, mobile phone bills and prescriptions.

These are the 11 everyday items that are going to cost you more from this year, according to Hull Daily Mail :

Council tax

Undated file photo of a council tax bill (PA)

This is the annual charge levied on households by local councils and is used to pay for services in the community such as education, roads, libraries and collecting your bins.

Then there's an extra bill, called a precept, for fire and police services which inevitable has already been decided will go up - but how much will depend on where you live.

You might also find a little additional cost to pay for your local town or parish council.

How much you have to pay depends on the estimated value of your property, based on the property's market value set by the Valuation Office Agency at April 1991.

TV Licence fee

File photo dated 07/12/12 of the TV Licensing logo (PA)

The cost of an annual TV licence has increased to £154.50 a year - an increase of £4 a year.

It means that the new licence will cost £2.97 a week or £12.87 a month. The cost of an annual black and white licence will rise from £50.50 to £52.

The BBC say the money covers the cost of nine TV channels, regional programming, 10 national radio stations, 40 local radio stations, the BBC website, BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer.

Energy bills

Electricity bill charges (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The cost of gas and electricity in the home could be rising by 10 per cent.

This is because a price cap, introduced on standard tariffs, comes to an end on March 31.

According to Martin Lewis, from Moneysavingexpert.com, for a typical household on a standard tariff, it means a potential hike of £117 a year, the equivalent to £9.75 a month.

Most of the 'big six' suppliers have increased their standard variable charges , but it's best to check with your provider.

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Water bills

Dripping water droplets falling in the piggybank (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The amount water companies charge you water and waste services depends on whether or not you have a water meter.

If you have a meter, you pay for the amount of water you use.

If you don't have one it is calculated using the rateable value of your home.

The average household water bill for 2019/20 in Yorkshire is £401, an increase of 16 per cent compared to last year. 

Stamps

UK Letter with 1st class stamp, with copyspace for address, isolated on black. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The price of first and second-class stamps will increase by 3p.

That means the price of a first-class stamp for a standard letter will rise to 70p, while a second-class stamp for a standard letter goes up to 61p.

Meanwhile, the prices for large-letter stamps are going up from £1.01 to £1.06 for first class and 79p to 83p for second class.

These price changes actually come in from March 25, so it might be worth stocking up on stamps at the cheaper rate.

NHS prescriptions

Pharmacy nurse with a prescription (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

NHS prescriptions in England are set to rise by an extra 20p. It takes the price per item from £8.80 to £9.

However, the cost of prescription prepayment certificates (PPC) will stay the same.

Charges for other items such as wigs and fabric supports are also set to increase, according to  moneysavingexpert.com .

Health News

A young man with hair loss (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Surgical bras will increase from £28.85 to £29.50. Abdominal or spinal supports will rise from £43.60 to £44.55.

Stock-size modacrylic (ie, synthetic) wigs will go from £71.25 to £72.80. Partial human hair wigs will increase from £188.70 to £192.85.

Full bespoke human hair wigs will rise from £275.95 to £282.

Dental work

Open mouth during oral checkup at the dentist (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Charges for NHS dental services in England are set to rise by 5 per cent.

The price you pay is determined by the date of the check-up or procedure.

Band one charges, which cover check-ups, advice and some emergency dental care, is rising by £1.10 to £22.70.

Band two charges – which cover root canals, fillings and removing teeth, will rise by £3 to £62.10.

Band three charges, which cover more complicated procedures such as crowns and dentures, will increase by £12.80 to £269.30.

Council tax, stamps and energy prices set to rise from April - here's how much more it will cost you

Car tax

Car keys and money on the table with a man using calculator (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The rise in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is down to the government linking the tax to the retail price index (RPI) inflation measure.

This means brand new and older cars can expect to pay more and cars that produce between 76g/km and 150g/km of CO2 will pay an extra £5.

Vehicles that produce 151-170 g/km will pay £15, meanwhile 171-190g/km producers will pay £25 extra. Vehicles that emit 191-225g/km will pay £40 more and 226-255g/km will pay £55.

Driving Laws

Double exhaust from an older car with a diesel engine (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

You also have to pay a higher rate for diesel cars that don’t meet the Real Driving Emissions 2 (RDE2) standard for nitrogen oxide emissions. This could mean an extra £500 depending on your vehicle.

Cars more than 40 years old, those with zero emissions and any car registered between March 2001 and 2017 with emissions of less than 100g/km are all exempt from VED.

Sky TV and broadband

Television from an internet stream (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Some of the broadcaster's prices will rise by an average increase of 5%.

The price hikes will affect broadband deals, television deals and phone calling costs:

For broadband, the standard will increase by £1 a month across all packages, while Fibre Broadband will increase by £2 a month.

For TV, Sky Entertainment will increase from £25 to £27 for those out of contract, while in-contract prices are rising from £20 to £22.

Sky Multiscreen will increase from £12 to £13, Ultimate On Demand will increase from £10 to £12, Sky Cinema With Sports will increase from £10 to £11, Sky Cinema without Sports will increase from £18 to £19 for those out of contract, and Sky Cinema will increase from £10 to £11.

Sky Phone prices will see Talk Anytime Extra deals increase from £8 to £10 and Talk Evenings and Weekends Extra deals increase from £4 from £5.

Mobile phone bills

Mockup image of hands holding white mobile phone with blank black desktop screen (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The major networks - EE, O2, Three, vodaphone and Virgin Mobile have announced price hikes.

EE customers on monthly mobile contracts will be hit with a 2.7 per cent price rise.

O2 and Three will increase prices for their pay-monthly mobile customers by 2.5 per cent.

Virgin Media, which runs Virgin Mobile, is removing some old tariffs and changing the price of others, which could result in increases for some pay-monthly customers, including some Sim-only contracts.

It says customers will be moved onto the closest equivalent tariff currently available.

For some customers this works out at up to £150 a year.

State pension top-ups

Retirement saving and pension planning (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The amount of money people pay into workplace pensions will rise from 3 per cent to 5 per cent under auto-enrolment rules.

To put it into perspective, someone earning around £27,000 will see their personal contribution rise from £500 to £850.

On the plus side employers will also see their contributions go up from 2 per cent to 3 per cent.

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