The current fee for naturalisation applications is £218 so the increase to £268 represents an increase of £50.
Rogerroger asked :-
what do we get in the ceremony do! is it like a banquet or a buffet??
That is totally down to the local authority in your area. However I suspect that you will be sorely disappointed if you are expecting a wonderful banquet or anything like that. However you cannot avoid paying the citizenship ceremony element for naturalisation applications so look upon it like this ...... well this is our experience anyway.
My wife attended her citizenship ceremony last June here in Birmingham. Also her daughter, my step-daughter, was there and given her Certificate of Registration. The ceremony was great .... the Lord Mayor did a wonderful job making everyone feel so at ease and welcome.
The refreshments afterwards? Tea/coffee and a few biscuits ..... served in a wonderful room in Birmingham's Council House .... the same room as used by the G8 people, Clinton etc etc, a few years earlier.
So, value for money? No ..... but nevertheless something we shall all remember for ever.