00:00 I mean, councils like households have also faced rising costs and are seeking to get
00:06 as much cash as they can to maintain public services. Of course, we can understand that.
00:12 It doesn't make it any easier for the rest of us. With council tax at the highest location
00:16 in Rutland, now more than £2,500 a year for Band D, it is not a cheap time to live in
00:23 the UK. And unfortunately, all these tax rises and council tax rises and the rising costs
00:30 of other bills means that even though inflation is coming down, living costs are still rising.
00:36 Unlike other household bills like electricity or phone bills, when it comes to council tax,
00:41 you can't shop around to get a better deal. Certain groups can apply for exemptions though.
00:45 You'll get 50% off your bill if everyone living in your household is disregarded, and you'll
00:50 get 25% off your bill if you pay council tax and either you live on your own or everyone
00:55 else in your home is disregarded. You can contact your local council if you're unsure
00:59 about whether you can get a discount or who's responsible for paying. With that in mind
01:03 then, what's in store for the future? Could we be seeing more rises or will other bills
01:08 dropping mean we'll be better off sometime soon?
01:10 There is some prospect as inflation continues to fall and interest rates, Bank of England
01:15 based rates, also may begin to fall from the middle of the year. If those two things continue
01:20 to happen or interest rates do start falling from their current 15 year highs, that will
01:25 also likely feed forward into other living costs coming down. It's too early to celebrate
01:32 for those few of us who could even ever afford champagne. It's probably too early to open
01:36 any. But maybe by the end of this year, and of course the government will hope just in
01:41 time for the elections, people will start to feel a little bit less hard up. Unfortunately,
01:46 millions of UK households are in debt from the crisis we've experienced. And so even
01:51 if living costs fall, it may take many years for us really to feel like we're back to where
01:57 we were in 2020.
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