Money Box

The conflict in Iran has very grave human costs for the Middle East. But it also has economic costs and they are being felt around the world and here in the UK.Just this week the Resolution Foundation think tank said higher energy bills could mean typical British households are £480 worse off this year. From heat pumps to pensions and solar panels to savings - what changes have you made because of the changing world?Felicity Hannah is joined by Ian Preston from the Centre for Sustainable Energy in Bristol, Ellen Fraser from the energy consultancy Baringa and Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: James Graham Editor: Rob Cave Senior News Editor: Sarah Wadeson(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 15th April 2026) Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire

The Employment Rights Act has been called the most significant change to workers rights in a generation, so what does it mean for your money?The new law will introduce a raft of new rules for employees and employers over the next 18 months. From April 6th statutory sick pay has been enhanced and will be available from the first day of illness. Also, fathers will have a right to paternity leave on joining a workplace, rather than after six months' service.In January protection from unfair dismissal will become a right after six months of being in a job, instead of two years, and there will be a clamp down on zero hours jobs with workers given the right to request 'guaranteed hours'.Felicity Hannah is joined by John Palmer a senior adviser at the conciliation service ACAS and Kaajal Nathwani, an employment lawyer at Osborne & Wise. Felicity also speaks to the employment rights minister Kate Dearden.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producers: James Graham Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Henry Jones(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 8th April 2026)

Millions of people in their sixties will now wait up a year longer before they can claim their state pension. From Easter Monday the current state pension age of 66 will gradually increase over the next two years until it reaches 67 affecting everyone born on 6th April 1960 or later. How will it work for those affected?Rent arrears, council tax debt and unpaid utility bills are the main reason more than 400,000 people in Britain are homeless. A new report by the Centre for Homelessness Impact published next week sets out ways to reduce or even end homelessness. What does it recommend?Millions of drivers are in line for hundreds of pounds of compensation for mis-sold finance deals. We'll have 5 top tips on who gets what and how to claim.And there are some tax changes from Monday as well, we'll round up what's happening to dividends and inheritance tax.Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Sarah Rogers Researchers: Catherine Lund and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle(First broadcast 12pm on Saturday 4th April 2026)

Making Tax Digital for income tax is HMRC's biggest shake-up of self assessment for decades, but are you ready? The new system will involve filing quarterly updates as well as a final return via third party software. This year it'll affect 860,000 sole traders and landlords with a turnover of £50,000. In the coming years the threshold will fall, bringing a total of nearly three million people into the new system.Felicity Hannah is joined by Jonathan Athow, HMRC's director general for strategy and policy, to take listeners' questions about how it all works and what they need to do to prepare. We also hear from Emma Rawson, from the Association of Tax Technicians, a professional body for tax advisers.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producers: James Graham and Rob Cave Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Henry Jones(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 1st April 2026)

For some it's the dream, for others it's the plan, for most it's an effort. On this programme we look at buying a first home. It's rarely easy but plenty of people are making the jump. The property site Zoopla says first time buyers accounted for 40% of sales in the first half of the year.But the picture can be so different depending on where you live and how much family support you can tap into. We'll hear from those who've just bought as well as others struggling to make it work because their salaries are out of step with prices.Felicity Hannah is joined by Richard Donnell who heads the research and insights team at the property website Zoopla and Jane King a mortgage adviser at the firm, Ash Ridge.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producers: James Graham Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson (This episode was first broadcast at 3pm on Radio 4 on Wednesday the 22nd October 2025).

Almost 300,000 flights will take off over the summer months and whilst most holidays go without a hitch, others fail to get off the ground.Last year saw widespread disruption at airports, in August there was an exceptional IT failure at the UK’s main air traffic services provider NATS over a bank holiday Monday which affected around three quarters of a million people. Strikes and staff shortages also caused disruption.In this programme we'll discuss what your rights are if your trip is delayed or cancelled, as well as a Brexit passport rule which has been catching thousands of passengers out.Felicity Hannah is joined by consumer rights champion Jane Hawkes and Sean Tipton from ABTA, which is the association of travel agents and tour operators.Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Sarah Rogers Editor: Jess Quayle(This episode was first broadcast on the 3rd of July 2024.)

Are you ready for the start of university? From loans to bursaries, discounts to freebies, Charmaine Cozier puts your questions to our expert panel on all things student finances. We hear from Jordan, Andrew, Phoebe, and Susan as we try to prepare you for higher education. Panel: David Thomson - Head of Operational Support - Student Loans Company Tom Allingham - Save the Student