March 2023

Typical household energy bills will remain at £2,500 a year for at least three months from 1 April as the Government has heeded our and others' calls to postpone a planned 20% rise. The announcement ahead of today's Budget follows a month-long campaign led by Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, which has been backed by 130 charities and consumer organisations. 

Next month's 20% energy bill price rise is now likely to be scrapped by the Government as energy firms are preparing for it not to go ahead. That's what MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis told Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning (Friday 3 March).

Prepayment meter customers typically pay more for their energy than those paying by direct debit. But the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says from 1 July the "prepayment penalty" will end, cutting bills for over four million households.

New guidance designed to help homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments has been published by the financial regulator, though it has been likened to a "thin sandwich" by MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis. However, Martin has said he is hopeful the measures put lenders in a position to be able to offer quick-fire support in the event of future interest rate shocks.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith MP has confirmed he will read and seek official advice on the proposals for freeing mortgage prisoners put forward in a recently published report by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

The NHS prescription charge in England will increase by 30p to £9.65 from 1 April, the Government confirmed today. The cost of prescription 'season tickets', which let you prepay for multiple prescriptions over a set period, is also rising – so if you regularly pay for prescriptions, it's worth checking if you should buy a certificate now, before prices go up.

A landmark new report published today by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) puts forward costed solutions to the horror of the situation facing up to 200,000 mortgage prisoners, who have been trapped on high rates after their loans were sold by the state to 'closed book' inactive lenders.

Will the Government cancel its planned 20% energy price rise in April and what will the new rates be? MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis answers these questions and more in the latest episode of ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live – which also features an interview with Energy Secretary Grant Shapps.

A social tariff is the best way to stop millions of vulnerable people overpaying for energy, according to a new report from Citizens Advice published today. The consumer charity says eligible households could save up to £1,500 a year on their bills under the proposals. A social tariff is something MoneySavingExpert.com founder, Martin Lewis, has also long argued for. 

People in England aged up to 60 who want to study, train or retrain will be able to access flexible student finance to help them do so from 2025, the Government has confirmed today. The new higher education loan scheme, dubbed the 'lifelong loan entitlement', will be worth the equivalent of four years of post-18 education. Here's what we know so far.