Energy Costs and Private Schools VAT

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Temperatures have fallen below zero in much of the UK this week, just as gas and electricity prices rose. From New Year's Day the price cap set by the regulator Ofgem on every unit of power we use will mean the price for heating, washing and cooking for a typical household will rise by just over one per cent. A typical bill will go up £21 a year to £1,738. But, that is in fact 10% or £190 lower than the price cap set a year ago. How are people coping with costs this winter?

From New Year's Day the fees private schools charge parents will be subject to VAT at 20%. Previously private school fees were exempt. The Independent Schools’ Bursars Association has told Money Box that schools are raising fees from this term by between 13% and 18%, though some are absorbing the whole cost while others pass on the full amount raising fees by 20%. What impact will that have on schools and parents? The Treasury says pupils numbers at independent schools have remained steady since 2000, despite fees increasing by around 75% in real terms since then. We'll speak to Rudolf Eliott Lockhart - CEO of the Independent Schools Association.

From 1st January catching the bus could cost you 50% more. Single fares in England which had been capped at £2 have risen by a pound to a maximum of £3. What impact will that have on passengers?

And 'tis the season to be - taking things back. What are your refund rights?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Emma Smith, Catherine Lund and Eimear Devlin. Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12noon Saturday 4th January 2025)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Greg Jenner. I'm the host of Your Dead to Me, where the best names in comedy and history
0:05.5	join me to learn about and laugh at the past. You are a traitor. And in the new series, we'll meet
0:11.2	Aristotle. I think he might have been a time traveller. Someone who's like almost a glitch.
0:15.3	We'll dive into the causes of the British Civil Wars in the 1600s. In England at this period,
0:19.8	there's people can't get on the housing ladder.
0:21.5	This sounds familiar.
0:23.2	And we'll discover the arts and crafts movement.
0:25.3	I love the clothes.
0:26.3	I love the vibe.
0:27.1	Yes, we're a comedy show that takes history seriously and then laughs at it.
0:30.5	You're dead to me.
0:31.3	Listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:34.3	BBC Sounds.
0:35.6	Music, radio, podcasts.
0:37.7	Hello, and welcome to this first Moneybox podcast of 2025.
0:42.5	Private school fees rise as they lose their VAT exemption,
0:46.3	but how will the change actually affect parents' finances?
0:49.9	Bus fares go up 50% in parts of England,
0:52.8	as the cap on a single fare rises to £3 for millions of journeys.
0:57.5	And tis the season to be taking things back, what to do when a gift is not just what you always wanted.
1:04.4	But first, something that affects us all.
1:06.9	Temperatures down, fuel prices up.
	...

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