Money blog: 'Foolish' rules encouraging builders to put smaller windows on homes being looked at by new government (2024)

The new government is considering whether to scrap health and safety regulations that are seeing homebuilders shrink the size of windows, or put bars on them, to stop people falling out, the Money blog can reveal.

The rules, introduced in December 2021 by the Conservative government, are in the first instance designed to guard against "unwanted solar gains" - or, to put it another way, homes becoming too hot as the climate warms.

This, critics say, is resulting in builders installing smaller windows on new builds.

But they also require builders to account for safety - and so upstairs windows in new-build homes must now be at least 1.1 metres (3.6ft) from the floor.

Former minister Michael Gove launched a review of the rules - with the consultation concluding before the Tories lost power in July.

The new government has yet to make a decision.

A spokesperson for theMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told the Money blog: "We have closed a call for evidence on building regulations and are considering the responses before we make our decision."

Earlier this year, Nicholas Boys Smith, chairman of the Create Street thinktank on urban design, told the Telegraph the "foolish" regulations have "incentivised the building of extremely small windows".

"People are not able to look out of their windows if they are sitting down," he said.

"This means, in a normal-sized suburban house, first-floor rooms are darker and less pleasant.

"It's making it nearly impossible to create houses that fit in with their 20th century, Edwardian, Georgian or Victorian predecessors. The majority of England's most beloved buildings would violate these regulations."

For Savings Guide this week, Savings Champion co-founder Anna Bowes looks at the best junior ISAs.

Most parents want to ensure their children have a strong financial footing when they are older, and there are many ways to support them.

What you choose depends on what access you want your child to have, as well as the risk you are prepared to take, but starting as soon as possible can make a huge difference. As can choosing the most tax efficient options, and a junior ISA (JISA) is often the most obvious option.

A JISA is a tax-free savings account for both the parent and the child, so it can be an ideal account to place funds that you gift to your child.

Most children's savings account could have tax implications

Children have their own personal allowance, so for the majority there will be no tax to pay on their savings interest. However, parents should be aware that there may be a tax liability to themselves on the interest earned on any money they gift to their children, until they reach the age of 18.

If the total gross interest earned on all cash gifted by each parent is more than £100 per year, then all of it (not just the excess) will be treated as that parent's interest for tax purposes and therefore they may need to pay tax at their marginal rate - if it takes them above their personal allowance and/or personal savings allowance.

If the gross interest earned is less than £100 for each parent's gift, it is considered so minimal that parents do not need to declare it.

This is a key reason why parents may prefer to place money they gift to their children into a JISA – as this tax rule does not apply.

What about gifts from other family members or friends?

Gifts from any other family members or friends will not be viewed in the same way. Instead, any interest earned will be treated as belonging to the child themselves and therefore can be earned tax free if they are non-taxpayers.

No access

Something that parents should remember is that while in the JISA, the funds cannot be accessed until the child becomes 18, but at that stage they will have unfettered access to the funds.

But they can also transfer their JISA into an Adult ISA to continue to receive tax-free interest/investment returns.

If you, your friends and family were able to gift a total of £9,000 a year to a child from birth (the current JISA allowance), at a rate of 4.95% (the current best JISA rate), you could give them more than £264,000 when they reach 18. Now that's a gift worth having!

Top JISA rates have so far been unaffected by the recent base rate cut, but they are variable rate accounts, so it's important to keep an eye on the rates being earned going forward to make sure your child continues to earn a competitive rate.

A number of supermarkets and health and beauty retailers have been carrying out "concerning" loyalty scheme practices, Which? has said.

This include prices being increased for a product before they are sold on "offer" to members at their original price, according to the consumer group's investigation.

For example, Boots sold an Oral-B iO7 electric toothbrush at a non-member price of £400, while the members' price was £150.

However, the product had only been £400 for 13 days beforehand, prior to which it was £150 for everyone, Which? found.

Which? says it analysed the pricing history of almost 12,000 products at health and beauty retailers and supermarkets over the past year to uncover how genuine the loyalty savings have been.

It found that some products on a loyalty offer had been at its non-member price for less than half the year.

This applied to one in six Superdrug products and one in 10 at Boots.

At supermarkets, it was 10% with Tesco, 5% at Sainsbury's and 3% at Co-op.

Which? says the guidance on consumer law regarding pricing promotions needs to be updated.

The UK competition watchdog is also currently analysing displayed savings.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking into whether non-member, or regular, prices are artificially inflated by supermarkets to make their loyalty prices appear more attractive, but its initial findings last month indicated retailers are unlikely to be misleading shoppers.

What have the supermarkets and retailers said?

A Superdrug spokeswoman said: "Our products are regularly on a mixture of member-only prices, multibuy promos, and price promotions open to all, to ensure all our customers can make savings on their favourite products throughout the year.

"Every month we give our loyal Health & Beautycard members access to hundreds of health and beauty products at a lower price, and the investigation highlights the value this offers our members."

A Boots spokesman said: "We have always been committed to offering customers great value, helping them save money across their health and beauty needs.

"All promotions, including Price Advantage, are assessed against all applicable laws and guidelines set out by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute."

A Tesco spokesman said: "All our Clubcard Prices promotions follow strict rules, including considering how they compare against prices in the market, to ensure they represent genuine value and savings, and these rules have been endorsed by our Trading Standards Primary Authority."

A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "More people are choosing to shop at Sainsbury's and we know our customers are savvy shoppers, who understand that factors like inflation, products falling out of season, or promotions can affect our prices.

"That doesn't stop us following pricing guidance for the industry and offering great value on the products our customers buy most - whether that's with our Low Everyday Prices, Aldi Price Match or Nectar Prices."

A Co-op spokesman said: "We know our member prices provide true value for our members.

"No base prices have increased to accommodate Co-op member pricing and, in fact, many of the 'all-customer' prices were decreased to ensure Co-op was competitive on key lines for all shoppers, whether they are a member or not."

Parents with children turning 16 have until the end of the month to ensure they keep receiving child benefit.

The money may still be available to you if your child is in full-time education or training, but it's not automatic.

You need to let HM Revenue and Customs know whether this is the case by 31 August.

Training is limited to unpaid work and traineeships, and approved types of education do not include BTEC Higher National Certificate qualifications or a university degree.

The benefits will come to a stop once your child finishes their education at one of four points during the year nearest to that date: February, May, August or November.

Child benefit can be extended in some circ*mstances, such as if they join the armed forces.

Claiming the benefit has the added bonus of earning you national insurance credits to put towards your state pension if you are earning less that £123 a week.

Holland Barrett is trialling the world's first express DNA test service at some stores in the UK.

The retailer will offer customers on-the-spot genetic information for skincare and improved sleep in five stores across the UK, Retail Week reports.

Testing will involve a £30 cheek swab and results will be sent securely to a customer's smartphone in just 20 minutes.

The service is being provided by medicaland consumer genetics testing firmDnaNudge.

The stores where the testing will be available are in Chelmsford, Bluewater, Birmingham Bullring, Princes Street Edinburgh, and Queen Street Oxford.

A savvy loophole allows Britons to save £75 on both National Trust and English Heritage membership at the same time.

The hack involves buying an annual Heritage New Zealand pass as an "overseas resident", which not only grants access to historical sites in New Zealand, but also the UK and other countries.

That's thanks to a "reciprocal agreement" with the National Trust and English Heritage that unlocks access to hundreds of their tourist hotspots.

Given the National Trust increased its prices by more than twice the rate of inflation (8.5%) this year, this saving hack is particularly helpful for those looking to purchase a membership.

UK residents can buy a non-Kiwi membership from Heritage New Zealand for just £128. Purchasing passes separately from English Heritage and National Trust combined would cost £163.20 – a difference of just over £35.

Savings become greater for families, with a New Zealand Heritage membership costing £210. For the two English Heritage and National Trust family passes, it would cost £285 - a £75 increase.

After signing up, your Kiwi heritage card will be sent in the post and you can show it upon entry at all English Heritage and National Trust sites.

However, the Kiwi card does not cover parking, meaning you will need to pay for this on the day.

Terms and conditions on the New Zealand Heritage website reveal that Wakehurst, Sussex, which is managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, is the only National Trust-owned property where free entry is denied.

The Kiwi card also unlocks access to international heritage sites in Italy, Germany, Canada, and South Korea.

Waitrose has announced plans to open up to 100 new convenience shops over the next five years.

The shops will be the first openings in six years for the supermarket chain and are part of a £1bn investment.

The money will be spent on launching new stores and improving 150 existing shops - almost half of Waitrose supermarkets.

It is also transforming a store in London's Finchley Road to trial new services, product offerings and concept upgrades over the next year before a new blueprint for Waitrose shops is unveiled in 2025.

Waitrose customers can expect:

• More meat and fish counters
• Chilled beer and wine departments
• Collaborations with third parties such as Crosstown doughnuts

The chain also says it will respond to local demand. For example, "Finchley Road has given more space to top sellers including adding a second dry aged beef cabinet and dedicated parmesan section - 12% of Waitrose parmigiano counter sales come from the one store".

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

Too many insurance companies lack the systems to provide a good service for customers, the financial conduct regulator has said.

Criticism of the price of insurance premiums prompted the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to pause the sale of some insurance products sold by certain firms.

The regulator had concerns customers weren't getting fair value.

While progress is being made, the FCA says, it is "still seeing too many examples of insurers and brokers lacking the right information, governance, or oversight to ensure their customers get consistently good outcomes".

If insurers can't prove products provide fair value, the FCA says it will "take appropriate regulatory action".

By Megan Harwood-Baynes, cost of living specialist

It was the dream Facebook notification.

In January 2021, Lorna Lyons was tagged in a post telling her she had won a £10,000 kitchen from The Range.

With appliance and fittings included, the mum of three was excited to replace "the heart of the family home" after entering the giveaway.

But three years on, their kitchen is condemned and the family cook their meals in an air fryer in the living room.

What went wrong?

Issues arose from the very beginning, Ms Lyons says.

First, she says, the designer tried to pressure her into accepting a white kitchen - something completely unpractical for the cooking fan in a household of three boys.

"I told her I don't want to spend all day up to my armpits in bleach cleaning the kitchen," Ms Lyons, 43, told Sky News. Eventually, The Range Kitchens (at the time branded as Jonas & James) agreed to design her a navy blue kitchen.

Then, she says, the designer measured wrong, with the wrong items being sent out - they were promised a dishwasher which didn't fit. When installing the kitchen in May 2022 (delayed due to the pandemic), she says the fitter damaged several drawers and doors, but while replacements were ordered, they never materialised.

Within a year, their brand-new hob had cracked, but after their pleas to The Range went unanswered they decided to order a new one themselves. But when it arrived, a different kitchen fitter refused to install it, telling them everything in the kitchen had been wired wrong and all the electrics were unsafe.

Instead of each appliance being housed within its own junction box, they were all taped together in one bundle.

I reached out to James Watkins, who posts on Instagram as Jimbo the Electrician, to see exactly what risks this could pose (he had no involvement in the installation - but gave me his expert opinion).

He told me: "So looking at the photo there are a few issues that I can see: Single insulated cables on show (Code 2 - potentially dangerous). No adequate enclosure with tape being used and terminals accessible without the use of a tool (Code 2). Overall workmanship very poor."

This, he said, could potentially lead to an electric shock.

Correspondence shared with Sky News shows Ms Lyons has repeatedly contacted The Range about the issues with her kitchen, but no solution has been forthcoming.

"I am struggling mentally and emotionally, I am just drained. I feel as if I am getting nowhere," the NHS call handler said.

Sky News contacted the Range about the issue.

A spokesperson said: "We're sorry to hear that Ms Lyons is having an issue with her kitchen which was installed in good faith using an independent installer in 2022.

"This issue has only just been bought to our attention and we plan to investigate the matter fully."

But Ms Lyons says she has not heard from the company in more than two weeks.

What rights do competition winners have?

Generally speaking, if a contract is involved, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives people certain statutory rights when goods are supplied to them by a business.

But, whether there is a contract will depend on the circ*mstances. If something is completely free, and the consumer doesn't have to give or do anything in return, then the Consumer Rights Act 2015 may not apply.

But if it does, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 goods should be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and match their description. If a business also agrees to install the goods it is supplying or agrees to arrange for them to be installed as part of the contract, then it must ensure that the goods are installed correctly.

Where consumers' statutory rights are breached, someone may have a legal right to a solution under consumer law, such as a right to a repair or replacement. Depending on the circ*mstances, someone might be able to bring a claim under the general law for damage caused to their property (even if there isn't a contract), but they should seek independent legal advice before doing so.

Anyone who experiences an issues with the prize from an advert should speak to Citizen's Advice for further help.

One in four Britons fear they could be forced to turn off their heating and hot water this winter due to an expected rise in energy bills, a survey suggests.

The proportion who said they may be forced to take such action increased to 31% for households with children and 39% for bill payers on a low income, according to the survey from Citizens Advice.

The charity said it was helping record numbers of people with energy debt "even in the height of summer".

It warned that "without urgent intervention from the government, households will continue to face impossible choices and drastic cutbacks to be able to afford to heat their homes".

The survey found 48% of respondents said they would have to turn their heating or hot water down or off.

And 34% said they would have difficulty affording food or other essentials, such as their mortgage, rent or childcare - while 7% said they would be forced to skip meals.

Energy regulator Ofgem is set to confirm a new energy price cap for October to December on Friday - which experts predict will rise by 9%.

Citizens Advice said 7% of households (nearly five million people) are in debt to their energy supplier, a figure that rises to more than 14% of households with children under 18.

It said the predicted price cap increase of £150 would pull a further 187,000 people into a negative budget - equivalent to the population of Bournemouth.