Money blog: Bank launches cheapest five-year mortgage - as rivals also announce cuts (2024)

NatWest has launched the cheapest five-year fixed mortgage deal on the market.

The 3.71% rate comes with a £1,495 product fee and is available to customers who have a 40% deposit.

Other lenders have also announced cuts this week, including Barclays and Halifax.

Yesterday, Barclays reduced its five-year fixed 60% LTV remortgage deal from 4.06% to 3.93%.

It also announced cuts across its purchase product range, with a five-year fixed 75% LTV deal coming with a 3.95% rate and a £899 product fee.

Halifax also launched a 3.81% five-year deal to new borrowers yesterday.

Brokers have welcomed the cuts as "hugely positive" news, and suggested more lenders could follow suit.

"NatWest's latest rate cut is another clear signal that mortgage lenders are pulling out all the stops to reignite the housing market," Ranald Mitchell, director of Charwin Mortgages, told Newspage.

"This flurry of rate reductions is a positive step towards finding that sweet spot where consumer confidence rebounds, and the property market gets back on track.

"It's an exciting time for potential buyers, affordability is improving, and the window of opportunity is wide open."

Justin Moy, the managing director at EHF Mortgages, said: "Lenders are looking to grab some market share by the end of the year.

"Other lenders will likely want to make a similar move over the coming days to remain competitive."

By James Sillars, business reporter

It's a fairly muted start to the day's trading, again, on financial markets.

The FTSE 100 has opened 10 points higher at 8,373.

Rolls-Royce, the civil aerospace-to-defence firm (not to be confused with the luxury motor car manufacturer), is leading the gainers.

Its shares rallied by 4% early this morning after a 6.5% decline the previous day.

That tumbled was in reaction to the apparent mid-air failure of one of its engines on a Cathay Pacific flight.

Analysts said that the share price recovery was down to an update from the airline that the fleet affected should be back to full operation by the weekend.

A tweet Liam Gallagher wrote seven years ago criticising the eye-watering price of gig tickets has come back to haunt him.

His message, written in September 2017 about his older brother Noel, who was touring America with his band High Flying Birds at the time, read: "350 dollars to go and see rkid in USA what a c*** when will it all stop as you were LG x"

The tweet has resurfaced after dynamic pricing for Oasis's much-hyped reunion next year left fans - many of whom had spent hours queueing online - stunned after some standard tickets more than doubled in price from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster due to demand.

X users pointed out the irony upon seeing the 2017 tweet, posting comments including, "Well this is evergreen", "What's your excuse for charging over 368 quid then?" and "Not ageing well, Liam".

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Using a phrase Liam adopts in his own social media comments, another fan wrote simply "BIBLICAL".

Hundreds of people have complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over "misleading claims about availability and pricing".

In response, Sir Keir Starmer has said the government will get a "grip" on the issue of surge pricing, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy promising a consultation over the transparency and use of dynamic pricing, and the technology around queuing systems, to ensure fans don't get ripped off.

Yesterday we revealed that official reseller Twickets had lowered its fees after criticism from Oasis fans.

Scroll through today's Money blog for: Cheapest dates to go on holiday this year (6.42 post); how do you get free school meals (7.58 post); pay-per-mile tax proposed (7.38 post)

Basically, free school meals are aimed at making sure the country's more vulnerable youngsters don't go hungry while they're learning in their earlier years.

Children of certain ages automatically qualify without having to apply, but the rules differ across the four nations.

Children whose parents claim certain benefits or asylum support may also be eligible - though an application may be needed.

Free school meals without having to apply

In England, outside of London, all state school children in reception to year two automatically qualify for infant free school meals, while in the capital, all state primary school children up to age 11 qualify for the benefit in the 2024-25 academic year.

In Scotland, all state school children up to primary five (around four to nine years old) get the meals automatically. There are plans for this to be extended to pupils in receipt of the Scottish child payment in primary six and seven from February.

In Walesall primary school children in state schools can get free meals from September.

Families who claim benefits

If your child falls outside the eligibility criteria for automatic free school meals, they'll still be able to benefit in certain circ*mstances.

Wherever you are in the UK, your child may be able to get free school meals if you get one or more of the following:

• Income support
• Universal credit
• Income-based jobseeker's allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• Support under part six of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of pension credit
• Child tax credit
• Working tax credit (Scotland and Northern Ireland)
• Working tax credit run-on England and Wales)– paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit

There's some specific criteria for families by devolved nation, which we'll break down below...

England and Wales

If you're claiming universal credit, your net household income must be less than £7,400 after tax, and not including any benefits.

Those receiving child tax credit must not also be entitled to working tax credit and must have an annual income of less than £16,190.

If you're classed as having no recourse to public funds - a type of condition placed on temporary visas in the UK - and the parents are able to work, they must have a household income of no more than:

• £22,700 for families outside of London with one child
• £26,300 for families outside of London with two or more children
• £31,200 for families within London with one child
• £34,800 for families within London with two or more children

Scotland

People claiming universal credit in Scotland must have a household monthly income of no more than £796 (£9,552 per year) to qualify for free school meals.

Families on child tax credit, but not working tax credit, can get the meals if they earn less than £19,995. For those on both benefits, their income must be no more than £9,552.

Northern Ireland

You may be able to claim free school meals in Northern Ireland if you receive universal credit and your post-tax earnings are £15,000 or less per year.

If you get child tax credit or working tax credit, you can still get free school meals on an annual income of up to £16,190.

How can I claim the meals?

In England, Wales and Scotland, you apply to your local council.

The UK government website has a local authority postcode checker here, which directs you to the council running services in your area. There are similar tools on the Scottish and Welsh government websites.

In Northern Ireland, you can use this form to apply directly to the government.

How many children are eligible - and how much does it cost?

According to the latest data from the Department for Education, 2.1 million pupils were eligible for free school meals in the 2023-24 academic year - 24.6% of pupils. This was a rise from 23.8% the year before.

According to the London mayor's office, it's estimated that school meals cost £13.25 per week - or £2.65 meal - on average.

It says its free school meals offer for all state-educated primary school children in the capital saves parents around £500 per year.

According to a 2023 report from the IFS, the current system of free school meals in England – both means-tested and universal provision – costs the governmentaround £1.4bn a year.

But separate research from the Food Foundation found that expanding free school meal eligibility to all primary school students could generate around £41bn in direct benefits to students and a further £58bn to the wider economy over 20 years.

Read other entries in our Basically series...

Tax receipts from petrol and diesel duty bring in £25bn for the Treasury each year - and questions have been raised about what happens as more drivers go electric.

Today, the public transport charity Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) is proposing that drivers of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), such as electric cars, should be charged based on how far they travel.

They are asking Chancellor Rachel Reeves to impose the pay-per-mile scheme, saying it's the solution to a "black hole" that will be created by the loss of fuel duty.

The scheme would not apply to drivers of traditionally fuelled cars.

Under the plan, drivers with a ZEV before the implementation date would be exempt, incentivising the switch to electric vehicles.

Previous governments have found the prospect of introducing per-mile charges - known as road pricing - to be too politically toxic.

But CBT claims it would have public support.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments box - and read more on this story here...

Summer may be edging towards the rear-view mirror, but that doesn't mean Britons are turning their back on sunshine.

With many looking to sort an autumn holiday, Expedia has taken a look at the best times to fly and book hotels - with savings of up to £120 if you are savvy.

Its data is based on average daily rates for lodging and flight prices between 22 September and 21 December this year.

When to book flights for

• Cheapest: 22, 23 or 24 September
• Least busy: 10 or 17 December
• Most expensive: 19, 20 or 21 December
• Busiest: 20 and 21 October

"For the best deals, travellers should look to book their flights 14 to 20 days before travel, saving them on average £120 compared to booking 91 days or more out, or saving £60 compared to booking 60-90 days out," Expedia says.

"Target the 22-29 September for travel, when average ticket prices (ATPs) for flights are shaping up to be nearly £100 cheaper than the autumn average, and £50 cheaper than summer ATPs."

When tobook a hotel

• Cheapest: 20 November or 11 December
• Least busy: 10 or 17 December
• Most expensive: 14 or 21 October
• Busiest: 23 October or 25 September

"For hotel stays, target the 3-9 November, when average daily rates are £15 cheaper per night than the seasonal average and summer stays," Expedia says.

The holiday booking site says the most popular autumn destinations have remained largely the same as last year based on the largest number of hotel searches...

1. London, UK
2. New York, USA
3. Paris, France
4. Edinburgh, Scotland
5. Amsterdam, Netherlands
6. Dubai, UAE
7. Manchester, UK
8. Tenerife, Spain
9. Birmingham, UK
10. Rome, Italy

Despite this, Expedia says savvy Britons are searching out "under the radar" getaway spots.

"Flight searches have surged for Brits looking to discover new, under-the-radar European cities this autumn, such as Tirana (+95%) in Albania and Bucharest (+70%) in Romania, as Brits look to stretch their budgets further by looking outside the popular city break hotspots."

The top 10 destinations with the biggest search increases are:

1. Saint Malo, France
2. Didim, Turkey
3. Syracuse, Italy
4. Beijing, China
5. Palermo, Italy
6. Tromso, Norway
7. Brescia, Italy
8. Poznan, Poland
9. Tangier, Morocco
10. Ischia, Italy

The Money blog will return shortly - meantime, why not scroll through some of our best and most popular features below...

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Despite traditionally being an affordable staple of British cuisine, the average price for a portion of fish and chips has risen by more than 50% in the past five years to nearly £10, according to the Office for National Statistics.

But why?

Sonny and Shane "the codfather" Lee told Sky News of the challenges that owning J-Henry's Fish and Chip Shop brings and why prices have skyrocketed.

"Potatoes, fish, utilities, cooking oil - so many things [are going up]," he said.

Shane also said that he is used to one thing at a time increasing in price, but the outlook today sees multiple costs going up all at once.

"Potatoes [were] priced right up to about £25 a bag - the previous year it was about £10 a bag," Sonny said, noting a bad harvest last year.

He said the business had tried hake as a cheaper fish option, but that consumers continued to prefer the more traditional, but expensive, cod and haddock.

"It's hard and we can we can absorb the cost to a certain extent, but some of it has to be passed on," Shane added.

After a long Saturday for millions of Oasis fans in online queues, the culture secretary says surge pricing - which pushed the price of some tickets up by three times their original advertised value to nearly £400 - will be part of the government's review of the ticket market.

On today's episode of the Daily podcast, host Niall Paterson speaks to secondary ticketing site Viagogo. While it wasn’t part of dynamic pricing, it has offered resale tickets for thousands of pounds since Saturday.

Matt Drew from the company accepts the industry needs a full review, while Adam Webb, from the campaign group FanFair Alliance, explains the changes it would like to see.

We've covered the fallout of the Oasis sale extensively in the Money blog today - see the culture secretary's comments on the "utterly depressing" inflated pricing in our post at 6.37am, and Twickets, the official Oasis resale site, slammed by angry fans for its "ridiculous" added fees at 10.10am.

The growing backlash culminated in action from Twickets - the company said it would lower its charges after some fans had to pay more than £100 in extra fees for resale tickets (see post at 15.47).

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Last week we reported that employers will have to offer flexible working hours - including a four-day week - to all workers under new government plans.

To receive their full pay, employees would still have to work their full hours but compressed into a shorter working week - something some workplaces already do.

Currently, employees can request flexible hours as soon as they start at a company but employers are not legally obliged to agree.

The Labour government now wants to make it so employers have to offer flexible hours from day one, except where it is "not reasonably feasible".

You can read more of the details in this report by our politics team:

But what does the public think about this? We asked our followers on LinkedIn to give their thoughts in an unofficial poll.

It revealed that the overwhelming majority of people support the idea to compress the normal week's hours into fewer days - some 83% of followers said they'd choose this option over a standard five-day week.

But despite the poll showing a clear preference for a compressed week, our followers appeared divided in the comments.

"There's going to be a huge brain-drain as people move away from companies who refuse to adapt with the times and implement a 4 working week. This will be a HUGE carrot for many orgs," said Paul Burrows, principal software solutions manager at Reality Capture.

Louise McCudden, head of external affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices, said she wasn't surprised at the amount of people choosing longer hours over fewer days as "a lot of people" are working extra hours on a regular basis anyway.

But illustrator and administrative professional Leslie McGregor noted the plan wouldn't be possible in "quite a few industries and quite a few roles, especially jobs that are customer centric and require 'round the clock service' and are heavily reliant upon people in trades, maintenance, supply and transport".

"Very wishful thinking," she said.

Paul Williamson had a similar view. He said: "I'd love to know how any customer first service business is going to manage this."