Home movers in Great Britain could get just £30 of energy use without account

Consumers in Great Britain moving to a new home will have about two weeks to set up an energy account before their lights go out, under plans to cut growing gas and electricity debt.Energy meters could soon be remotely switched to prepayment mode when the previous resident moves out, under proposals put forward by the industry regulator, leaving the next resident £30 of credit to settle into their home.However, once this amount has been used, which on average would take about a fortnight, they would be left in the dark unless they had set up a new account with an energy supplier.The plan to nudge households to set up their accounts sooner is part of an attempt by the regulator, Ofgem, to tackle Britain’s record energy debt, which has climbed to almost £4.5bn, or more than twice as high as it was before the energy crisis

Western carmakers ‘in fight for lives’ against Chinese rivals, says Ford boss

The boss of Ford has said western carmakers are “in a fight for our lives” against Chinese competition as the US manufacturer agreed a new partnership with France’s Renault.The two companies said on Tuesday that they would work together on two smaller electric cars, with the first to go on sale as soon as early 2028. They will also look at producing vans together.“We know we’re in a fight for our lives in our industry,” Jim Farley told journalists in Paris. “There is no better example than here in Europe

‘Bring it on!’: growing support in England for four-day week in schools

“A wonderful idea”, “Bring it on!”, “Yes!”, “Brilliant!”, “Absolutely”. If enthusiasm were all it took to change policy, a four-day week in England’s schools would be all but guaranteed.A Guardian report this week saying that the 4 Day Week Foundation has urged the government to pilot a four-day working week in schools in England and Wales to boost teacher wellbeing and recruitment attracted hundreds of thousands of readers.Teachers and parents responding to a subsequent Guardian callout were overwhelmingly supportive, though many were unsure about the logistics.Jo Hopkins, a 55-year-old London development director and mother of 11-year-old twins, liked the idea of a four-day week for pupils

UK fraud prevention ‘still lacking’ after Covid-related scams and errors cost £11bn

Ministers have been warned that fraud prevention efforts are falling short across government, as a major Covid report found that fraud and errors had resulted in a £10.9bn loss to UK taxpayers during the pandemic.The report, by the independent Covid counter-fraud commissioner Tom Hayhoe, found that government schemes designed to support struggling businesses and their staff were rolled out at speed with no early safeguards, resulting in huge fraud risks that cost the public purse.Weak accountability, bad quality data and poor contracting were the main failures behind the £10.9bn loss, but Hayhoe also concluded that fraud prevention was “insufficiently embedded in thinking and practice across government”

Britons face higher chocolate prices but average cost of Christmas dinner falls

The festive season may be less merry for those with a sweet tooth this year, as the price of chocolate has risen by nearly a fifth, according to research.Chocolate prices in Great Britain rose 18.4% on a year earlier in November, analysts at the market research firm Worldpanel found.However, the study showed the average cost of a Christmas dinner for four people has fallen by a penny to £32.46

Australia is facing its shortest rate cut cycle in 30 years as the RBA hints it may have to start hiking

The Reserve Bank’s governor, Michele Bullock, has effectively ruled out further rate cuts and flagged that hikes may be needed in 2026 if the recent inflationary rebound proves persistent.Speaking at a press conference after the widely expected decision to hold the cash rate at 3.6%, Bullock seemed surprisingly upbeat as she delivered the bad news to the roughly 3.3 million households with a mortgage.“I would say at this moment that, given what’s happening with underlying momentum in the economy, it does look like additional cuts are not needed