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Would a service charge typically be fixed and escalate annually for a flat in a larger old house?
It entirely depends on your lease (some only allow expenditure based on the previous year's expenditure, some allow your managing agent to estimate, which means it's effectively open season), and the freeholder/managing agent in question. Generally speaking they will increase in line with inflation, but if you have an aggressive or unethical third party freeholder, you should expect them to increase much more aggressively.
If you know who the freeholder / managing agents are, you'll know if they're that kind of entity by checking their reviews on google. No managing agent has 100% good reviews, but you'll spot a shitty one a mile off - tales of service charges increasing by many multiples, aggressive chasing of residents for minor or no-existent breaches, etc. If more than 50% of the reviews refer to this stuff, run a mile.
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ReekBlefs
Why don't flat listings always have lease info and service charge fees in the rightmove advert? Surely it's a massive factor that can help buyers disregard certain properties without having to email the estate agent. From what I've researched into flats, balance of 999 years seems pretty common in the South West but hardly any info on service charge. Would a service charge typically be fixed and escalate annually for a flat in a larger old house?