Money blog: New rules on roaming charges from today - what you need to know (2025)

Compensation paid to egg donors will rise for the first time in more than a decade - from £750 to £986 - amid a shortage in the country.

Sperm donors will also be paid £10 more for each clinic visit at £45.

Although it is illegal to pay someone to donate sperm or eggs, donors' costs and expenses are covered.

Donating eggs is an invasive medical procedure that carries more risk and multiple clinic visits over the course of one cycle.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has warned against paying people to donate.

"There are very good reasons behind making sure that donation is an altruistic act," it said.

"A financial inducement, for example, may impact on the safety of patients and the future child, if it motivated donors to make claims about their health or genetic background in order to successfully donate.

"The new compensation rates aim to maintain these values, while recognising that costs have increased since 2011."

Rates will now be reviewed every ten years or when inflation has increased by 10% - whichever happens sooner.

Around one in 170 children born in the UK each year are conceived through donated genetic material.

The four companies that form part of the troubled Cineworld cinema chain have had their restructuring plans approved by a High Court judge.

Cine-UK Ltd, Cineworld Cinemas Ltd, Cineworld Cinema Properties Ltd and Cineworld Estates Ltd, which are parts of the UK arm of the world's second-biggest cinema chain, were at risk of entering administration if the restructuring was not approved, the court was told.

The approval means £16m of new equity funding from their parent firm will be released to pay for their immediate financial needs, with an extra £35m to be made available.

The four companies will also negotiate the leases of their 101 sites - five are set to close due to being "commercially unviable".

Some 4,400 staff are employed across all four of the companies.

Nationwide has completed its £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money.

The deal merges two of the UK's largest banking groups.

The combined group will have around 24.5 million customers and nearly 700 branches - though it could take several years for the merging process to be completed.

When it does, Virgin Money is expected to disappear from UK high streets.

Drivers paid the car parking app RingGo around £30m in parking fees last year, according to new data.

The cashless parking service generated a turnover of £29.9m last year, its latest accounts published on Companies House show.

This figure is an increase from the £25.8m it made in 2022.

Meanwhile, yearly active users grew by 9.6% during the year, rising from 9.4 million in 2022 to 10.3 million in 2023.

Launched in 2005, RingGo is part of the Sweden-based Park Now Group.

The tax burden in the UK "will likely stay at its 70-year high for decades", the Institute for Fiscal Studies reports.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Paul Johnson, its director, warned that factors such as rising health spending, people living longer, the pensions bill and a need to increase defence spending would make it harder to bring down public spending.

"My guess is that is going to stay there. My guess is it will not, in my lifetime, go back down to where it was through most of my lifetime," he said.

The prediction comes weeks after Rachel Reeves signalled her first budget as chancellor could be a painful mix of spending cuts, tax rises and increased borrowing.

After figures showed the economy flatlined in July, she refused to rule out increasing business and wealth taxes, or further cuts to already strained departmental budgets.

She has ruled out increasing personal income taxes, National Insurance and VAT as well as corporation tax.

All year for our Cheap Eats feature we've talked to chefs across the UK, from Northern Ireland to Norfolk - and this week our focus is on London.

This afternoon we speak to our fourth chef of the week -Jun Tanaka, head chef of Michelin-starred The Ninthin Fitzrovia.

Hi Jun, what is your go-to cheap eat to cook at home when you have a night in?

Spaghetti with anchovies, chilli, garlic and breadcrumbs - it's quick to make and has loads of flavour and texture.

Add some extra virgin olive oil to a pan and add the chopped anchovies until they melt, then add the thinly sliced garlic and dried chilli.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the spaghetti. A tip for cooking dried spaghetti is to cook it two minutes less than is written on the packet.

Finish it in the pan with the anchovies, garlic, chilli and some pasta water until it emulsifies and coats the pasta. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, chopped parsley and finish with breadcrumbs.

What are your favourite places around London to get a meal for two for less than £40?

I love Shuk in Borough Market, especially during the warmer months when you can sit outside and enjoy the vibe of the market. You have to order their pitas. Everything's delicious but if I had to choose a favourite it would be the spiced lamb meatballs with harissa, yoghurt and herbs.

Oi Vita Pizzeria in Stoke Newington is my go-to place when I feel like a pizza. The service is super friendly and they focus on sourcing the best ingredients, so their pizzas are very good. I usually order the diavola - tomato, mozzarella, spicy salami and basil.

If I get a takeaway it's usually Vietnamese and my favourite is Viet Grill on Kingsland Road. I pretty much order the same dish every time which is their original pho. Their beef marrow broth is very tasty, although I do like to add dried chill and chilli vinegar for the extra kick.

How did you end up getting into cheffing?

I've always loved eating. My mother is a fantastic cook and during my childhood the family dinner was the highlight of my day. Even as a child there was nothing that I wouldn't eat. Loving food so much, it seemed completely natural for me to become a chef.

We've spoken to lots of top chefs - check out their cheap eats from around the country here...

The October price cap is here - it now stands at £1,717 a year, meaning households are looking at paying an extra £149 on their bills on average over the course of the year.

The energy price cap sets a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use. It does not limit your total bill, because you pay for the amount of energy you use.

But what can you do to avoid price hikes - and is there any support available?

The first - and probably easiest - thing to do is read your meter. As we reported on Friday, households on a standard variable tariff, which do not have a smart meter, should submit electricity and gas readings as soon as possible (if they have not already done so).

This stops your supplier from billing you based on estimated usage and ensures you are not inaccurately billed at higher prices.

Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem's chief executive, said people should "shop around" to see if they can get a better deal on their energy tariff.

"For the first time in a long time, we are seeing some good value deals emerge," he said.

"I'd encourage people to shop around and consider fixing if there is a tariff that's right for you - there are options available that could save you money, while also offering the security of a rate that won't change for a fixed period."

Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said people "can and should save by switching" their energy supplier, and consider a fixed-price energy tariff.

"The cheapest year-long fixes on the market right now are about 7% less than the new October price cap, but they might not be around long," he cautioned.

Mr Lewis suggested that people look for the cheapest option for their use and location, and they can use comparison sites to find and compare deals.

Is there any support available?

Ofgem urged people to make the most of any state benefits they are entitled to, which could help with paying energy bills as well as the wider cost of living.

Around 1.4 million pensioners are already receiving pension credit, but the government estimates up to 880,000 further households are eligible for the support for those with a low income.

People receiving pension credit qualify for the winter fuel payment, worth up to £300, to help with bills.

If you think you are going to struggle paying your bills, the best thing to do is contact your energy supplier to see if they can offer you the flexibility of a payment plan.

Earlier we brought you the news that Halifax and Lloyds banking services had gone down, leaving many people unable to access their accounts and make payments (see 11.20 post).

A spokesperson forLloyds Banking Group, which owns Halifax and Lloyds Bank, has confirmed to the Money blog that its apps and internet banking are now back up and running.

"Our apps and internet banking are back to normal. We're sorry some of our customers had issues earlier today," they said.

As we reported yesterday, a new law has come into force today requiring restaurants to pass on all tips, gratuities and service charges, either paid in cash or by card, to staff.

Here are some of your comments...

Tips should also be exempt from tax. Employers who withhold tips should be named and shamed, with staff freely able to report without fear of losing their job. Tip directly in cash, saves any doubt.

David

Ban the tipping culture and pay the staff a proper living wage.

Freaky Nell

Excellent news. Tips were always meant to be for "waiting staff" anyway.

MoeCHandon88

"Some restaurants may increase prices..." They already have! Where I live there are a lot of restaurants that were nearly always full throughout the week, now it is an entirely different story.

Steve H

Service staff have relied on tips in the past to supplement low pay, but with the increase in the minimum wage and a further increase on the horizon, is there really a need to continue to automatically tip or should this be reserved for exceptional service?

Bluey

New rules come into force today aimed at protecting phone users from surprise charges when they use their devices abroad.

Mobile providers now have to notify customers when they start roaming and inform them of fair use limits, advise them on how they can set a spend cap and direct them to where they can find additional information.

Post-Brexit, a law requiring operators to alert customers of roaming charges was brought in, but it lapsed in June 2022.

A review by the regulator Ofcom found the quality of information being provided since then has been "inconsistent and unclear", with nearly a fifth of holidaymakers left unaware they could face extra charges.

Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said the new rules should "reduce the chances of people being stung with sky-high mobile bills".

But she said it was "disappointing" that they don't outline how users can get compensation "if they have inadvertently fallen foul of roaming charges".

Meanwhile, Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, said the rules won't prevent holidaymakers from being subject to sometimes "eye-watering" roaming costs.

"There is still virtually nothing to stop providers from charging whatever they like when you use your phone abroad," he said, adding that Britons were hit with unexpected roaming charges totalling around £539m last year.