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Here’s what’s going up on ‘National Price Hike Day’

From 1 April, known as ‘National Price Hike Day', UK residents will face a variety of price increases.

TV and broadband services from providers like BT, EE, Plusnet, Vodafone, Virgin Media, O2, and Sky will see hikes between 6.7% and 8.8%, linked to inflation rates.

Council tax is set to rise up to 4.99% in England, with specific increases in different regions, and a notable 21% increase over two years for Birmingham City Council.

The TV licence fee will climb to £169.50, up £10.50.

Social housing rent will jump by 7.7%, based on the previous September's inflation plus an extra 1%.

Water bills in England and Wales are increasing by an average of 6%, translating to an annual bill of £473.

Car tax and train fares will also rise, with train fares in Scotland up by 8.7% and previous increases in England and Wales.

Stamp prices will go up by 10p from 2 April.

However, it's not all bad news. National Insurance contributions (NICs) will be reduced, benefitting millions of workers and self-employed individuals.

Child benefit thresholds are being raised, offering more support to families. Benefits and pensions linked to inflation will increase by 6.7% and 8.5% respectively.

The National Minimum Wage for those aged 21 and over is rising to £11.44, a 9.8% increase. Additionally, the energy price cap will decrease, reducing the annual cost for typical households using electricity and gas to £1,690, £238 less than the previous period.

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In the 11th and 12th centuries half a million pilgrims a year travelled on foot from all over Europe to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. In September 1992 Patrick Shanahan retraced their steps, recording his 500 mile journey in a series of photographs, some of which are reproduced on this website.