Is the UK planning to charge fees for application status checks?

Question

People who have a pending application with UKVI can experience stress, impatience, worry, or even "post-submission anxiety". So status checking has become a popular outlet. Internally, UKVI only has about three or four status indicators, so learning the status may not help that much, but it gives applicants a way to cope with the nervousness that often accompanies a pending application.

Applicants who use the various services offered by UKVI can check the status of their application. They can do this by calling or emailing the contact centre. In some premium services the applicant can also opt for SMS messages that broadcast the application status to a mobile number. Also, an applicant with a question about the rules can email their question to the contact centre and expect a reply usually in about 6 - 12 weeks. These services have been free of charge or embedded in the price of a premium service.

Question: Will applicants need to pay for these in the future?

Secondarily, high-net-worth individuals have access to special premium services like a chauffeur's waiting lounge at the consulate for their drivers and close protection specialists, or having an ECO with a visa processing mobile unit come around to their residence. They can also arrange for private VIP landing interviews at Heathrow and Gatwick. Of course these services cost, and cost dearly. Will these be increasing in the future?

Future = some time in the 1st half of 2016.

UKVI = UK Visas and Immigration, the UK Directorate responsible for issuing entry clearances (visas)

Answer 1

On 11 January 2016, the Home Office published the government's intent to raise visa and nationality fees...

Today 11 January 2016, the government set out its proposed changes to the fees for visas, immigration and nationality applications and associated premium services for 2016–17.

Source UK visa fees

There are breathtaking increases on the settlement side (which do not concern us), but they have introduced new fees for applicants wanting to use their premium services. Here's a screen shot...

Columns with an 'n/a' indicate that the service has been free of charge (or did not exist) and most of them have to do with status checking. End-users who are constantly checking the status of their application now have to pay for it by the minute.

They have also introduced a cost for their 'mobile premium service'. This is where a van and ECO come to the applicant's residence and collect the biometrics and issue the visa straight-away. This service is available only in selected countries.

Finally, the cost to have your own Immigration Officer in a private area of the airport (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Manchester) is unchanged. The fee given is from the Home Office, the airport levies additional fees.