Welcome to the Money blog, Sky News’ consumer and personal finance hub. A French fine dining restaurant in Cheshire has launched a water-only menu – and one bottle costs £19. Also: Wizz Air has announced new cheap routes to Italy. Leave your thoughts in the comments box.
Monday 18 August 2025 18:07, UK
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Let us know in the comments or via email at moneyblog@sky.uk how much your premium went up and, crucially, whether it was an at fault or no-fault claim.
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Experts believe the pensions triple lock will eventually become unaffordable for the UK.
A common view is that scrapping the guarantee (which ensures pensions rise each year in line with inflation, earnings or 2.5%, whichever is highest) would be electoral suicide. But is this true?
An (unscientific) survey we conducted on LinkedIn and YouTube suggests a level of public support for the idea and uprating pensions each year in line with average earnings growth.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments box.
Lidl workers are getting their fifth pay rise in two years, bringing them in line with their Aldi rivals.
Staff will see their wage increase from £12.75 an hour to £13 nationally from 1 September.
This will rise further to £13.95 the longer staff have worked at the supermarket.
Those working in London will see their pay rise from £14 to £14.35, increasing to £14.65 with length of service.
“Over the last two years, we’ve held our spot as the fastest growing bricks-and-mortar supermarket,” said Stephanie Rogers, chief people officer at Lidl GB.
“This continued success is made possible because of the ongoing efforts of our colleagues, including customer assistants, shift managers, warehouse operatives and cleaners, whose commitment is greatly appreciated. In recognition of their contribution, we continue to ensure we are market leading on pay.”
How does it compare?
Last month, Aldi said it would pay store assistants at least £13 an hour from September, with those working within the M25 earning £14.33 an hour.
Tesco will pay a minimum of £12.64 an hour from next month, Sainsbury’s said it will raise pay to £12.60 an hour in the same timeframe.
The national living wage for people aged 21 and over is £12.21 an hour. For those aged 18-20 it’s £10 an hour and for under 18s it’s £7.55 an hour.
A brand of children’s gummies have been recalled due to the presence of prescription-only medicine.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is telling parents and caregivers to immediately stop using Nutrition Ignition Kids Magnesium Glycinate Gummies.
This is due to the presence of undeclared melatonin – a prescription-only medicine.
“Taking too much melatonin can cause drowsiness, headache, dizziness, and nausea. Lasting harm is not expected when ingesting melatonin at high levels, and the body typically clears this within 12 hours,” the MHRA says.
Wizz Air has announced new routes from the UK to some of Italy’s most popular holiday destinations.
The budget airline is offering flights from Glasgow to both Milan and Rome as well as daily flights from London Luton to Venice.
In total, Wizz has 16 new routes.
Flights from Glasgow to and from Milan’s Malpensa Airport will begin on 27 October, leaving on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with fares starting from €29.99 (£25.85).
Daily flights from London Luton to Venice will start from €24.99 (£21.54) and begin on 1 December.
Meanwhile, flights from Glasgow to and from Rome’s Fiumicino airport will also take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting from €29.99 (£25.85) and beginning on 27 October.
TalkTalk is the most complained-about broadband provider, the latest Ofcom survey shows.
Virgin Media comes just behind, while Plusnet received the least complaints.
The figures are another reminder that many of us aren’t happy with the service we receive – yet a separate Which? survey recently showed almost half of Britons have never switched providers.
If you’re thinking of switching, below are the “best value” deals currently available…
Look beyond the big four
Sometimes it pays to sign up with a provider outside the traditional big players.
In the latest Which? survey results, Zen Internet, Plusnet and Utility Warehouse all scored highly, while the big four (BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media) sat in the bottom half of the rankings.
Several regional providers, such as Community Fibre, also scored well. By building their own fibre networks, regional providers supply superfast speeds and, in some cases, very competitive prices.
Can you haggle?
Yes! Haggling is expected by providers and is a good opportunity to discuss the elements of your deal and upgrade or downgrade if the package doesn’t quite fit your needs.
Even if it feels a little awkward, many providers let you negotiate through live chat or even social media, so you won’t need to pick up the phone.
Which? research shows that customers who haggle on their broadband deal save as much as £81 a year.
Sky News has launched a free Money newsletter – bringing the kind of content you enjoy in the Money blog directly to your inbox.
Each Friday, subscribers get exclusive money-saving tips and features from the team behind the award-winning Money blog, which is read by millions of Britons every month.
Sign up today and this week you’ll find the following in the newsletter:
As always, we’ll also outline the best mortgage, broadband, savings, energy and bank switch deals currently available – as well as giving you exclusive early access to our weekend long read and weekly Money Problem.
So, join our growing Money community – and thanks to the thousands of you who already have.
Train passengers are facing a potentially “outrageous” 5.5% rise in fares next year, public transport groups have warned.
The cost of train travel is often determined by July’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, which will be announced on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, fares rose by 4.6% – one percentage point higher than RPI in July 2024.
Analysts at banking group Investec are expecting RPI to be recorded at 4.5% on Wednesday, which means fares could jump by 5.5%.
The government sets a cap each year on regulated rail ticket prices, which is around 45% of fares, but it has not confirmed how it will do so for 2026.
Regulated fares include season tickets on most commuter journeys, some off-peak return tickets on long-distance routes, and flexible tickets for travel around major cities.
Operators set rises in unregulated fares, although these are likely to be very close to regulated ticket increases because their decisions are heavily influenced by governments
‘Rising fares are putting people off rail travel’
Pressure group Railfuture has warned that a 5.5% rise would be “outrageous” and a rip-off.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said there will be an update on changes to regulated fares later this year.
A spokesperson said: “The transport secretary has made clear her number one priority is getting the railways back to a place where people can rely on them.
“The government is putting passengers at the heart of its plans for public ownership and Great British Railways, delivering the services they deserve and driving growth.
“No decisions have been made on next year’s rail fares but our aim is that prices balance affordability for both passengers and taxpayers.”
Here’s a look at three of today’s big business stories…
Kingsmill owner to buy Hovis
Kingsmill owner Associated British Foods is preparing to snap up its rival bread brand Hovis.
ABF, which also owns brands including Ryvita and Twinings, said it has “reached an agreement” to buy Hovis from private equity owner Endless.
The multinational told investors that the deal will “combine” the production and distribution activities of Hovis and its Allied Bakeries business, which makes Kingsmill and Allinson’s bread.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is likely to attract the attention of the Competition and Markets Authority for combining two of the larger bread makers in the country behind the market leader, Warburtons.
UK sales jump for Shein ahead of stock market float
Fast fashion giant Shein’s sales jumped in the UK by almost a third last year, ahead of plans to float the company.
Official accounts show its customers in Britain made just over £2bn worth of purchases.
The online retailer’s low prices are attracting younger shoppers in particular.
Shein said it has benefited from the opening of two new offices in Kings Cross and Manchester, the launch of a pop-up shop in Liverpool, and a Christmas bus tour across 12 cities in the UK.
It comes as the company continues with efforts to secure a stock market IPO (initial public offering).
The company had been widely tipped to launch on the London Stock Exchange but is reportedly nearing a listing in Hong Kong.
EasyJet targets school-leavers with recruitment drive
EasyJet is launching a new cabin crew recruitment drive – targeting young people who are not in employment, education or training.
The airline is set to take on almost 1,000 new cabin crew for 2026, and is encouraging young adults and school-leavers to consider applying.
Michael Brown, director of cabin services at easyJet, said: “We want to show young people that being cabin crew is more than just a job – it’s a career filled with variety, teamwork and opportunity, which has so much to offer to so many people.”
We’ve been swamped with comments on our headline post this morning, about a top restaurant launching a dedicated water menu.
Most were as scathing as you might expect, but JoH wrote in with a different perspective…
As a non drinker, it gets very boring when dining out, that you are presented with the alcohol menu as if it is an expectation. When ordering a soft drink or water, you are often looking at the children’s menu or no menu at all. I welcome a water menu.
The following is a balanced representation of the rest of the feedback coming in…
In a country where the inequality gap grows year on year, charging £19 for a bottle of water is morally reprehensible. If you are willing to pay that, take a long look at yourself. There are many local community charities that would make much better use of your money.
Stegar Kickit
If you can pay £19 for a bottle of water, please donate at least the same amount to Water Aid.
GrayUK
A tad pretentious but if that’s what fine diners want… Not sure how environmentally sustainable it is shipping water across Europe. A menu of English waters with travel miles may be more suitable, especially in a restaurant which boasts local produce. ‘Peckham Spring’ perhaps?
Northern girl
The world has truly gone mad. It takes 7 months to put a water menu together by someone who is already a ‘water sommelier’? Sounds like a 30-minute job has turned into a nice little earner for someone. Well, good luck with it because people are daft enough to buy it.
Pete
What sort of idiot is going to pay £19 for a bottle of water? Laugh & mock, but there will be a few ‘hipsters’ out there stupid enough to do it! Manipulation of the brainless wealthy? Certainly seems that way.
Mel53
What an awful world we live in where some countries don’t have clean running water and others import bottles of water from other countries for obscenely rich people to waste their money on.
Bethan
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