The Times splashes (£) this morning with the claim: "Councils hit households with £400 extra charges." But the claim unravels when we see their example of page 8 of a "typical" example with a bill to "The Everyman Family, 25 Any Street…"
But then the list includes the biggest increases they could find anywhere (for instance the £60 increase in the res park permit in Lewisham.) It also includes items that would not apply to most households. For instance they have an annual allotment fee increasing by £84 (which would also be an exceptional figure even for those who do have allotments and the examples they quote in the text of the article are lower.) Most people don't use municipal tennis courts – and those who do will mostly not be facing an extra charge of as much as £109.72. Most do not use municipal pest control annually – and those who do will mostly not face an axtra cost of as much as £95.
It's all worthy of a Focus leaflet.
As mentioned before I think that sometimes increased charges are justified, sometimes not. But The Times has greatly exaggerated what is happening.