Today, our weekly Savings Guide looks at why Britons have been stashing money away more than usual, and figures reveal the banks which are losing the most customers to switching. Follow the Money blog through the day for the latest consumer and personal finance news with Jess Sharp.
Thursday 30 October 2025 07:29, UK
Up to £500m worth of household energy debt is set to be written off as part of a new relief scheme from Ofgem.
The UK’s energy regulator said it is planning to “reset and reform” the UK’s growing pile of energy debt.
The move could help around 195,000 people, Ofgem said.
Figures published by Ofgem last month showed that the money owed to energy suppliers by households in England, Scotland and Wales surged to £4.4bn by the end of June.
Currently, £52 is added to annual household energy bills to cover debts that are never paid and have to be written off.
The first phase of the scheme, set to launch early next year, will focus on people in receipt of means-tested benefits who have built up more than £100 of debt during the energy crisis.
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More than 265,000 current account switches have been made in the third quarter of this year, and some banks have benefited a lot more than others, new data from the Current Account Switching Service (CASS) shows. 
July was the busiest month for switches, with 111,244 made through the service.
Nationwide gained the most customers, taking on an extra 54,347, followed by Co-operative Bank, with 9,175. 
At the bottom of the table was Santander, which lost more than 23,000 accounts. 
CASS found the majority of switchers (69%) preferred their new account, and only 2% said that it was worse. 
Using online or mobile app banking was the top reason why consumers preferred their new accounts, followed by customer service, interest earned, location of branches and spending benefits.
CASS has facilitated 12.1 million switches since its launch in 2013. 
For this week’s guide, Anna Bowes, savings expert from The Private Office, reviews the best offers on the savings market…
Savings have surged, with households putting away an extra £7.9bn last month, up from £5.9bn in August, the latest data from the Bank of England has shown. 
Of that, £2.4bn was stashed into ISAs and £5.8bn was put into savings accounts that pay interest. 
“September can be an expensive month for households, with holiday credit card bills landing and back-to-school spending ramping up, putting pressure on disposable incomes,” says Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at online investment platform BestInvest.
“Yet, despite this seasonal uptick in spending, savings activity increased, suggesting that households are bolstering their financial reserves ahead of potential tax rises in the autumn budget.
“This may explain the slight uptick in ISA subscriptions in September, as savers sought out tax-efficient shelters for their money.”
There has been little change in the interest rates on offer across the savings market, with Bowes saying providers will be waiting to see what happens to interest rates in the coming weeks. 
Easy access 
But a new market-leading easy access account has launched, with app-based bank Zopa offering 4.75% AER, including a 1.5% bonus for 12 months.  
“The snag is that you need to have a Zopa Biscuit current account and in order to earn the bonus you must deposit £500 a month into the current account,” Bowes says. 
“That said, there is no fee to pay on the Biscuit current account and it offers other benefits that some could find useful.”
Easy access cash ISA 
Plum and Moneybox continue to compete to take the lead, but Moneybox is in the top spot, offering 4.52%, which includes a bonus of 0.82% for 12 months. 
You can only make three penalty-free withdrawals a year or the rate falls to 0.75% for the rest of the year.
Plum has had to settle for 2nd place, offering 4.45%, also including a bonus of 1.41% for 12 months. Again, access is restricted to three times a year or the rate drops to 3.04%.
“These app-only accounts are becoming more popular – but not everyone wants to open an account this way. Harpenden Building Society and Principality Building Society are the top cash ISAs that are more traditional providers, but both restrict access,” Bowes says.
Fixed rate bonds
In our one-year table, there was a bit of excitement when Marcus (from Goldman Sachs) launched a market-leading bond paying 4.55%, the highest one-year rate we’d seen since July.
But, as expected, that didn’t hang around too long – less than two weeks, leaving app-only bank LHV in the top spot, paying 4.46%. 
There is a new leader in the two-year table – FirstSave launched a two-year bond paying 4.45%, which is the highest we’ve seen since the beginning of September. 
For those prepared to lock up some of their cash for longer, Afin Bank, a new app-only bank, has launched its first five-year bond this week, which has gone straight to the top, paying 4.55% AER.
Fixed-rate cash ISAs
In the one-year table, Vida Savings has knocked Tembo off its pretty longstanding perch, pipping its competitor by just 0.01% to offer 4.28% AER. 
In the two-year table, UBL UK increased its rate from 4.11% to a market-leading 4.16%. 
“It’s great to see some higher rates making their way into the market, especially when the future of the cash ISA is still under threat, and therefore people are looking to use up their allowance before the budget, if they’ve not already done so,” Bowes says. 
One of the big talking points of the last budget was inheritance tax – and rumours abound of further tweaks at next month’s set piece by the chancellor.
So what are the current rules?
First up, for those who don’t know, inheritance tax is a tax on someone’s “estate” when they die – ie, a tax on any money, possessions or property left behind.
It’s often called “the most hated tax” in the UK – but only around 4% of estates are actually affected by it, meaning most of us will never end up paying it at all.
When do you have to pay inheritance tax?
Inheritance tax is due when you leave an estate valued above a certain threshold to your loved ones when you die.
There is no tax if your estate’s value is below the £325,000 threshold or you leave your estate to your spouse or civil partner, or an exempt charity or group.
The tax is currently charged at 40% – but only on the part of the estate that lies above the threshold. For example, if someone’s estate is worth £400,000 when they die, then £75,000 of that estate would be taxed at 40% (£30,000 total tax).
Bear in mind that if you are married or in a civil partnership, any allowance you don’t use can be added to your partner’s allowance when they die.
This means a couple actually can pass on as much as £1m without their estate being subject to inheritance tax (we’ll explain this maths shortly).
Passing on a home
The rules are largely the same when it comes to passing on a home when you die.
If you’re giving it to your spouse or civil partner there’s no tax to pay, though it’ll count towards the value of the estate if it is being passed to another person in your will.
However, if you fully or partially own your home, your tax-free threshold can increase to £500,000 (which, multiplied by two partners, explains the £1m figure above) if you leave it to your children or grandchildren, or your estate as a whole is worth less than £2m.
There’s normally no tax to pay if you hand over the home before you die and live for another seven years or more.
When is the tax due, and how is it paid?
Inheritance tax is due within six months after the donor’s death. If it’s not paid by this time, the amount to be paid will start accruing interest according to the Bank of England’s base rate.
Funds from the estate are used to pay the tax to HM Revenue and Customs. This will be done by the person dealing with the estate, known as the “executor” if there is a will.
Are there any reliefs or exemptions?
You may be able to claim relief on gifts you give while you’re alive which are eligible to be taxed after your death.
A “taper relief” comes into effect if you lived for a certain number of years after giving the gift. The gifts are taxed on a sliding scale ranging from 32% if you lived for three to four years, to nothing if you lived for seven or more years.
You can give away a total of £3,000 worth of gifts each tax year without them being added to the value of your estate. This is known as your “annual exemption”. 
There are other reliefs available too:
What changes have been made? 
Rachel Reeves announced several changes to inheritance tax rules in last year’s budget.
One of the key announcements was that the £325,000 threshold we explained at the start of the post will be extended for a further two years until 2030, after remaining unchanged since 2009.
The chancellor also said inherited pensions, which are currently not counted for inheritance tax purposes, will be included from April 2027.
But perhaps the most notable announcement – and the one that’s caused the most uproar – is the change for combined business and agricultural assets, such as farms.
Although there will continue to be no inheritance tax on such assets worth less than £1m for now, from April 2026, those worth more than that will be taxed at an effective rate of 20%.
The announcement was met with anger from rural communities, with warnings the change could lead to food price rises and would have a “catastrophic” impact on family farms.
Co-op has launched a new Too Good to Waste scheme, offering members half-price baked goods every day. 
The retailer says the aim is to “reduce good waste and offer added value” to loyal customers. 
Its in-store bakery range will be reduced from 6pm each day. 
It will cover all loose and unpackaged bakery products, including all-butter croissants, cinnamon swirls and rosemary and rock salt focaccia. 
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter
Once again Next, a bellwether for the health of the UK high street, has underpromised and overdelivered, suggesting it’s not all doom and gloom in the run-up to the November budget and that shoppers are willing to part with their cash.
UK sales at the high-street clothing and homeware retailer rose 5.4% on last year in the 13 weeks to 25 October. 
As a result of the better-than-expected performance, Next said it was upping its yearly profit forecast by £30m to £1.135bn. 
The retailer was leading the pack as the biggest gainer in the FTSE 100, the UK’s benchmark stock index.
Its share price rose nearly 6.7%, a significant sum that is helping the index push to new highs. 
Often what isn’t said at PMQs is as insightful as what is – that was the case today as Sir Keir Starmer dodged a question about whether he stands by his pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.
The prime minister replied to Kemi Badenoch: “I’m glad that the leader of the opposition is now talking about the economy.”
He boasted that retail sales were “higher than expected”, inflation was “lower than expected”, and the stock market was “at an all-time high”.
But he did not answer Badenoch’s question, simply saying: “The budget is on 26 November and we will lay out our plans.”
An ominous omission?
Wizz Air has relaunched its unlimited flight package at a cost of €499 (£439) for 12 months. 
Subscribers can use the All You Can Fly membership to travel to hundreds of destinations as many times as they like over the course of a year, but there’s a catch: customers must book the flights within 72 hours of departure. 
You also need to know that each flight comes with a £9.99 booking fee, and the costs of booking a seat and adding luggage are not included. 
On the Wizz Air website, a “seat protection fee” ranges from ‎€50 (£44.03)  to ‎€150 (£132.09). Adding a bag costs between €15 (£13.21) and ‎€151.50 (£133.41). 
There are also only 10,000 memberships available across 34 countries.
The launch of the third phase follows incredible demand for the membership to date, the airline says. 
Since its launch last year, subscribers have flown an average of nine times a year.
Michael Delehant, Wizz Air’s senior chief commercial and operations officer, says: “We believe affordable prices should be matched with high quality operations and customer service – and we’re delivering. 
“This summer was our best on record, with significant improvements in on-time performance, flight completion and turnaround times – all while reaching the milestone of 1,000 flights a day.” 
Read all the T&Cs of the deal here.
The morning-after pill is now available free of charge at pharmacies across England. 
The move – hailed by officials as the biggest change to sexual health services since the 1960s – is expected to be a “game-changer” in making care more accessible to thousands of women. 
Emergency contraception is free from most GPs and sexual health clinics, but can cost up to £30 from pharmacies.
There is no need for an appointment with a doctor or clinic before collecting the pill. 
The morning-after pill has been free from most pharmacies, GP surgeries and sexual health clinics in Scotland since 2008 and in Wales since 2011. 
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