New Chancellor, New Plans? and Inheritance Gifts

This week has seen a new Prime Minister and a new Chancellor of the Exchequer. As soon as John Healey was appointed the announcements began. First came the announcement to cut VAT on household energy bills from October, next a plan to cap bus fares in England from January, then a 20% cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England starting from April. But what about that major issue on the doorstep when Andy Burnham was campaigning to be elected in his new constituency of Makerfield? The frozen personal tax threshold. We'll discuss what this might mean for your money.

Nearly two million households in England and Wales are living in water poverty according to a new study seen exclusively by this programme. The technical definition of that is when people spend more than 5% of their income, after housing costs, on water bills. What it means in reality is being unable to afford to pay for water, and being in debt to a water company. We'll speak to the Consumer Council for Water, who commissioned that study.

Plus, we'll look at the rules around gifts and inheritance tax as a new survey by the financial advisors The Private Office found more then 8 in 10 of its clients aged over 45 believe parents and grandparents should help younger generations during their lifetime rather than leave an inheritance after death.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Amber Mehmood, Catherine Lund and Jo Krasner. Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 25th July 2026)