Money: Britons could have £2,000 annual water bills in future, Ofwat warns (2025)

There's yet more bad news for consumers from water bill regulator Ofwat.

It had already announced bills were set to rise £31 over each of the next five years, but now Ofwat forecasts the average annual bill could balloon to £2,000 by 2050.

Ofwat told a government-commissioned water inquiry that "significant investment" was needed to secure enough water to stop the taps running dry, piling costs onto consumers.

Around £300bn is needed over the next 25 years to ensure "resilient supplies of water and healthy rivers", Ofwat said.

Cycle to Work is a government tax exemption initiative created to promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution.

It allows employers to get cycles and safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The cost of the new kit comes directly out of your salary, so you don't pay tax or national insurance on it, saving around 32%.

According to the Cycle to Work Alliance – a coalition of the five biggest providers of the scheme – more than two million commuters working for 40,000 employers have received a cycle through the scheme.

How do I sign up?

Your employer will have to be registered with one of the scheme providers on offer.

You may then choose what bike you need, add clothing and accessories, and then submit your application to your employer.

They will then pay for the kit, and you receive a voucher, redemption code or collection letter, which you hand over to the retailer in payment, rather than using cash.

You'll then pay your employer back through monthly instalments, which are taken through your payroll.

What can I get?

You can buy "a bicycle, a tricycle, or a cycle having four or more wheels, not being in any case a motor vehicle", or an e-cycle.

Government guidelines state that you should use your bike and accessories for commuting for at least half of its usage.

You can also buy what HMRC calls "cyclists' safety equipment" which could include helmets, bells, lights, mirrors, locks, and reflective clothing.

The total amount you could spend was previously capped at £1,000, but as of June 2019 this restriction has been removed.

Why should I bother?

Research byCycleschemeshowed that, with a five-mile each way commute, you could save more than £3,000 a year by swapping your car for a cycle.

You'll also get healthier, improving your wellbeing and reduce your carbon footprint.

Buying a house takes a month longer than movers expect, research shows.

People think the process takes 88 days on average to exchange contracts once their offer is accepted, according to a survey by the Open Property Data Association.

Really, it's 124 days.

Almost two-thirds (62%) of respondents said they were asked to provide the same information two to three times.

Another 41% said a lack of clear, timely communication was the most challenging part of the transaction process.

They tended to blame the delays on conveyancers (44%), estate agents (28%), mortgage lenders (17%) and valuers/surveyors (15%).

Maria Harris, chair of the OPDA, said a "digital transformation" was needed to bring home buying into the 21st century.

Iceland has become the first major supermarket to abandon its commitment to stop selling eggs from caged chickens this year.

Having previously committed to stock only cage-free eggs by the end of 2025 alongside most supermarkets and food companies, Iceland U-turned on the grounds of affordability.

Animal charity the Humane League (THL) were quick to condemn the move, posting images of activists attaching stickers to boxes of eggs in an Iceland store reading: "It's time to crack on and go cage free."

"This is a phenomenally short-sighted move, and a deep betrayal of their customers and countless suffering animals," saidClaire Williams, campaigns manager at THL UK.

"Shoppers who want to avoid caged cruelty should shop somewhere else."

A spokesperson for Iceland said it was "fully committed to animal welfare but also to protecting our customers during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis".

"While we won't meet our 2025 target to go cage-free, we believe in giving people choice, not removing affordable essentials from their baskets.

"That's why we're continuing to offer free-range products and introducing barn eggs as part of our ongoing work to offer a range of higher welfare options at prices people can afford."

By James Sillars, business and economics reporter

The reaction to the so-called US-UK trade deal has been somewhat muted, with commentators pointing out the UK will still be worse off than before Donald Trump first took aim at UK exports to America.

They are right.

There was no rally for the FTSE 100 index. The pound is down against the dollar.

It seems pretty clear there's some scepticism over this "historic" deal and what it might yet contain.

But there were some winners: Aerospace propulsion specialist Rolls-Royce saw its stock end Thursday trading up by more than 3%.

Let's look at the carmakers: Aston Martin Lagonda was up 11%. In India, Jaguar Land Rover's parent firm Tata Motors gained 2% for a second consecutive session.

Other stocks with direct exposure to the US also won: Diageo, Barclays and Burberry were among the names.

But there was no broad rally. Not even a Bank of England interest rate cut helped boost non-financial stocks, given that the Bank continued to strike a cautious tone on the prospects for further reductions.

One of the agreements not to make the highlights was that engine exports to the US will be exempt from tariffs in return for a $10bn Boeing plane order.

It was revealed today that it was BA-owner IAG that had made that commitment, comprising up to 32 of the 787-10 aircraft for BA's long-haul fleet.

Its shares were 1.4% up, though that was mostly a consequence of its first quarter trading update that showed a tripling of operating profits during the first three months of the year.

We've all heard of, and many of us have relied on, the "bank of mum and dad" - but a new survey suggests that for many Britons, this is being flipped on its head.

While 73% of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are supporting adult children, almost as many (68%) are supporting their parents or grandparents, the Saltus Wealth Index found.

A sandwich generation, accounting for 12% of respondents, is supporting both.

"The data reveal a remarkable insight into how wealth is flowing through families," said Mike Stimpson, partner at Saltus.

"The traditional 'bank of mum and dad' model is now matched by a rising trend of adult children stepping in to support their parents as the 'bank of son and daughter'."

Of those children supporting their parents, 45% said they were helping with shopping, 43% with utility bills and 26% with mortgage payments.

Another 19% said they had paid for a parent to have a private medical procedure.

Parents tended to help children with house deposits (23%), cars (19%), and day-to-day bills (15%).

Almost a third of high earners sold or used investments to fund the support, while 18% cut back on lifestyle spending.

One in eight said they had dipped into their pension pots or reduced their contributions.

This week brought speculation Sir Keir Starmer could U-turn on winter fuel payments to some degree after the party's poor performance in the local elections - though he distanced himself from this at PMQs.

The policy has caused a lot of anger and headlines - but a YouGov poll this week might explain why Sir Keir is holding firm.

It suggests a majority of Britons surveyed (47%) support restricting winter fuel payments to those on pension credit or means-tested benefits.

Support for restricting the payments rose by one point.

Meanwhile, 39% opposed the restrictions, down by five points since the last survey in September.

Starmer said at PMQs the move would help "put our finances back in order after the last government lost control".

A group of Labour MPs in the party's traditional North West heartlands reposted a statement on social media in which they said the leadership's response to the local elections had "fallen on deaf ears".

They singled out the cut to the winter fuel allowance as an issue that was raised on the doorstep and urged the government to rethink the policy.

Men waste more money than women on short-lived and expensive fads, according to a survey.

Gumtree found men spent an average of £461 on the most expensive item they've bought for an abandoned pastime, while women spent £224.

Some 59% of men and 56% of women gave up on a new pursuit after just three months, leaving hundreds of pounds worth of equipment to gather dust.

"Our research reveals that we can sometimes struggle to commit to a new pursuit, despite having spent precious time and money in our excitement," says Kim Faura, consumer expert at Gumtree.

Picking hobby equipment up second-hand and selling it on when you've finished with it can save you money, she said.

Survey respondents revealed that over the last three years, men spent an average of £1,018 on equipment, compared to £670 for women.

The most popular hobbies picked up by men were fitness, gaming, football, cooking and running.

Among women surveyed, the most popular hobbies were fitness, arts and crafts, baking, cooking and gardening.

Men were more likely to quit a new interest due to frustration (41%) compared to women (35%).

Women were more likely to stop due to a lack of time (28%), compared to 24% of men.

Every Friday, we take an overview of the mortgage market before rounding up the best rates (today we'll focus on house purchase customers)with independent experts fromMoneyfacts.

You won't be surprised to see the Bank of England's decision to cut rates from 4.5% to 4.25% yesterday is leading our Mortgage Guide this week.

Looking first at those looking for a fixed rate, the decision might not change too much in the short term, as many lenders had already priced in a cut ahead of the Bank's announcement.

Earlier this week, MPowered Mortgages cut two, three and five-year fixed rates by up to 0.17%, and Nationwide offered up sub-4%first-time buyer rates for the first time since September 2024.

TSB cut by up to 0.20%, NatWest and RBS by up to 0.17%, Gen H by up to 0.20%, and Santander by up to 0.20%.

In other product news, Skipton Building Society took the novel decision to offer a mortgage with no repayments for the first three months, aimed at luring in cash-strapped first-time buyers.

Cheaper repayments

Fixes aside, the average homeowner on a trackermortgage can expect their monthly repayments to fall by £28.97 after the base rate cut, according to trade association UK Finance.

This could add up to a saving of nearly £350 over the course of a year.

People on a standard variable rate (SVR)mortgage - which kicks in when their deal ends - could see their monthly payments fall by £13.87, assuming that their lender passes on the base rate cut in full, which would add up to a saving of nearly £170 a year.

More mortgage cuts could come?

Markets had expected three more rate cuts after this one in 2025 - but while that is still a possibility, analysts are no longer as certain.

Either way, the current thinking is the base rate will be at 3.5% or 3.75% as we head into 2026 - though forecasts are a mug's game.

Richard Donnell, executive director of Zoopla, said any better deals would "filter slowly" through, given the cost of fixed-rate mortgages already reflects future cuts to the base rate.

"There's still plenty of tweaking of rates in the market but fixed rates are looking to predict what will happen rather than react to base rate movement," agreed David Hollingworth, associate director at L&CMortgages.

Products to consider

Moneyfacts has rounded up the lowest rates for house purchases for us...

Moneyfacts also picks out "best buys" that look beyond rates to take into account fees and incentives...

Let's not forget house prices

The average UK house price increased by nearly £900 month on month in April, despite some homebuyers facing a stamp duty cliff edge, according to Halifax.

The bank recorded a 0.3% month-on-month price rise to 3.2% in April, following a 0.5% monthly fall in March.

The average property price in April was £297,781, up from £296,899 in March.

"The rebound in prices suggests the market may be finding its footing after a turbulent few months," says Jonathan Handford, managing director at estate agent group Fine & Country.

But the figures contrast with Nationwide Building Society’s latest house price index, released last week.

Nationwide reported that prices dipped by 0.6% month on month in April.

Thanks for following along on a day the Bank of England cut the base rate from 4.5% to 4.25%.

Scroll through reaction, analysis and what it means for you below - and we'll be back with live updates here in Money tomorrow.