You can blame that old handbag-wielding hag for this bolleaux. 'Services must be self-funding and must not rely upon Central Govt. finance' Daft tart!
Just imagine the outcry if you had to pay £17 to find out whether the roads were going to be icy/foggy..... Paying for safety, pure and simple.
But, of course, if you pay, then you're a 'customer'. So you have customer rights - and if the weather-guessers get it as wrong as they often do, then you should be able to recover any consequential losses.
Shirley?