MARTIN Lewis has issued a warning to millions of households who could slash their energy bills.

Last week, the energy price cap jumped from £1,568 to £1,717 a year.

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This means that bills have risen by 10%, and the average household bill is up by more than £12 a month, or £149 a year.

However, Martin Lewis said: “Last week, the energy pants price cap, which dictates the rate eight in 10 homes in Eng, Scotland and Wales pay, rose by 10%

“Yet, for now, the deals you can compare and switch to are far cheaper.

“That’s why last week I called the current cap a pants cap, as, stay on it, and you’ll miss out on savings.”

Around 28million households are on standard variable tariffs, which are affected by the price cap, according to Ofgem.

However, there are several fixed energy deals that beat these tariffs.

The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com said: “A fix gives you peace of mind that the rate won’t change for a set time.

“Currently, a host of one-year fixes hugely undercut the price cap.

“Yet world turmoil has hit oil prices, and there’s potential knock-on to energy prices, so we’ve already seen three of last week’s cheapest fixes pulled and replaced with more expensive ones.”

EDF Energy also pulled the cheapest fixed deal on the market on Monday.

Those who signed up for the Essentials Fixed 1Yr Oct25v3 tariff were promised savings of £163 a year.

As a result, Martin added: “So for the short term, the mood music seems to say fixing ASAP is the safest route.”

The cheapest fixed deal available right now can still save the average household £162 a year.

How do fixed deals work?

Fixed deals work to protect customers from bill hikes if Ofgem were to increase the price cap in the future.

Customers on their supplier’s standard variable tariff see their energy prices change every three months, as these are tied to Ofgem’s price cap.

However, those who lock into a fixed energy deal are charged the same gas and electricity rates throughout the contract’s term.

Of course, doing so carries a slight risk of you paying more than those on the standard variable tariff if Ofgem’s energy price cap were to fall within your deal’s term.

The price cap is reviewed every three months in Oct, Jan, April and July, and can go up or down depending on what’s happening in the wholesale energy market.

Since October 1, those on the standard variable tariff (SVT) have had their rates capped by Ofgem at the following levels:

• 5.48p per kilowatt hour (p/kWh) for gas
• 22.36p per kWh for electricity
• A standing charge of 31.66p per day for gas
• A standing charge of 60.99p per day for electricity
• For a typical household that uses an average of 11,500kWh of gas and 2,700kWh of electricity every year, these rates will cap bills at roughly £1,717 .

As this is only an estimate for a typical household, if you use more energy, you’ll pay more.

But if you’re offered a fix that’s cheaper than October’s price cap, it’s always worth considering.

Which suppliers are offering the best-fixed deals?

Outfox the Market is currently offering the cheapest deal on the open market right now.

Its Fix’d Dual Oct24 v5.0 tariff costs a typical household £1,555 a year.

This means it is £162 cheaper than Ofgem’s October price cap.

It comes with a £25 exit fee per fuel or £50 if you lock in with a dual fuel tariff.

British Gas‘ The Fixed Tariff v5 tariff matches the Outfox the Market deal, but it comes with a £50 exit dee per fuel.

Octopus Energy’s 12M Fixed October 2024 v1 costs £1,566 a year – £151 less than Ofgem’s October price cap.

This deal also comes with no exit fees, so customers can ditch and switch suppliers at any time.

Remember to always compare prices before switching, as energy tariffs vary widely, and costs differ depending on where you live.

Outfox the Market, Ovo Energy and British Gas fixes are available to those with or without a smart meter.

What are the alternatives?

Customers unwilling to commit to long-term fixed energy deals may want to consider flexible tariffs.

Kara Gammell, personal finance expert at comparison site Money Supermarket Group, says: “These will almost always be at or below the price cap.”

For example, E.ON Next‘s Pledge variable tariff offers a fixed discount of around three per cent on the price cap rates for 12 months.

It will save the average household around £50 a year but comes with a £50 exit fee if you switch before the year ends.

The deal is available to both new and existing customers.

EDF Energy’s Ensure Tracker works in a similar way and offers a £50 discount off the price cap’s standing charges for 12 months.

For a bigger reward but at a higher risk, Octopus Energy offers two variable tariffs which track wholesale gas and electricity costs.

Customers on the Octopus Tracker see their prices change daily, but unit rates have remained consistently lower than the price cap in recent months.

The Agile Octopus tariff works similarly to the Octopus Tracker, but the main difference is that the former’s prices change every half hour.

Remember that those wishing to switch to any of these tracker tariffs must have a smart meter.

Miranda Hart has said “getting married in mid-life is a full injection of joy and fun”, after revealing she’s tied the knot at the age of 51.

The comedian and actreess has married a man she met during the pandemic.

“It’s the best!” she said. “He’s my best friend, we have the best fun… The fact that I could meet somebody – it’s not a rom-com story but it’s hope, and that’s why I think, whatever situation you’re in, there’s always hope that things really do change.”

She discusses the relationship in her new book, and also opens up about her struggle with chronic fatigue after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.

The star, who is best known for her BBC sitcom Miranda, told the BBC it had been a “tough few years”, but she was “thrilled” by her marriage, and was “really keen to get back to some silliness”.

“It’s so nice to be back in the television, I feel very excited to be here,” she told The One Show.

“Because once you’ve been bed and housebound with a fatigue-based chronic illness that takes a long time to be diagnosed – which sadly I know a lot of people will know – you miss life a lot. So I’m thrilled to be sitting here.”

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection which can spread to humans via a tick bite.

The disease can be easily treated if detected and diagnosed early, but for a long time, the actor didn’t know what was causing her to feel unwell.

It often starts with a circular rash and can lead to flu-like symptoms, nerve pain and sometimes a droop (facial palsy) on one, or both, sides of the face.

For most people, symptoms are short-term and can be alleviated by a course of antibiotics, but a minority go on to suffer more long-term symptoms, including chronic tiredness and unexplained neurological issues.

The star said she found it incredibly hard being confined to her home for such a long period.

“Unless you’ve had fatigue [like that], you don’t understand what literally not getting off the floor is,” Hart told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“I was basically bed-bound – and housebound. There’d be times where I’d look at a glass of water, and think ‘I don’t know how to pick that up’.

“All anyone wants is to be heard, accepted, loved and seen… and when you’re not – particularly in a medical situation – it’s the worst.”

Part of why she’s written the book was to share her discovery of what helped her recovery, she said.

“I thought I need to research this whole wellness expertise and dialogue that’s out there, but I was at bed at home alone, the doctors didn’t know what to do with me and I couldn’t have a cold plunge or go on a yoga retreat.

“So I thought what are the universal truths? So I did years of research, when I felt able to, and in the book there are 10 keys, which I call my treasures, to living well.

“And they’ve really genuinely [helped]. I feel like despite the suffering it came from, that I’m living a life of joy and meaning and fulfilment in a way I never have before.

“I feel like I know who I honestly am, in a way that I never knew I needed to, which is just incredible.”

When she finally received her diagnosis, she was able to trace the condition back to her teenage years.

“Probably when I was about 14 or 15, I got a tick-borne illness… and that’s when my symptoms started,” she recalled.

“It was such a relief. I mean, being misunderstood and misjudged is one of the hardest things about these kind of conditions. For sure.”

The actress, who began her career performing at the Edinburgh Fringe in the early 2000s, remains best known for her portrayal of the unlucky-in-love and socially awkward Miranda from her self-titled TV sitcom which ran from 2009 until 2015 .

Having taken time out to rest and recover, and with her new husband by her side, Hart suggested she finally felt well enough to start taking on new projects.

“I’m really keen to get back to some silliness now, I miss the studio floor, I miss laughter.”

After appearing on The One Show, Hart said she found her fans’ delight at her marriage “really very touching”.

Posting a video on X, she said: “I’ve got my best friend to do life with and it’s wonderful, and I’m also utterly thrilled to be back in telly land and having a book out, so thanks so much for all your support.”

Hart ended the video high-fiving her husband – only his hand was visible in the clip – which she joked was an “exclusive”.

She hasn’t revealed his identity, and said she wouldn’t say how they met until the book is published because it is “a little bit of a twist”.

Her book, titled I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You, is published on Thursday, 10 October.

You can enable subtitles (captions) in the video player

So, Susannah, what problem are we mulling over today?

Can we solve our overfishing problem and sustainably satisfy the world’s hunger for fish? According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, or the FAO, in 2020 the International Trade of Fisheries and Aquaculture Products was worth around $150bn. But the FAO now classifies a third of the world’s fishery stocks as overfished, which means they’re being fished beyond sustainable levels.

So what can be done to combat overfishing? Firstly, fishing subsidies which incentivise overfishing are a huge problem. Now, these are subsidies from governments for things such as fuel, fishing gear, and new vessels. An academic study from 2019 estimated that these government payouts to the fishing industry totalled around $22.2bn.

There has been some progress in limiting subsidies, especially those that end up supporting unregulated fishing. In June 2022, the World Trade Organisation agreement on fishery subsidies was signed. The goal in mind is to prohibit subsidy support for illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, and limiting fishing of overfished stocks. But it’s only due to come into force when two-thirds of WTO members ratify it. That means that 110 countries have to ratify it. But as of the 1st of July of this year, only 78 countries have done so.

So what other measures could we be looking at? Firstly, we could be doing more to protect essential predator species. For example, it’s estimated by the WWF that one third of shark species face extinction. Predator species like sharks play a crucial role in the ocean ecosystem and food chain.

Next, to avoid bycatch, the FAO has suggested placing the top end of fishing nets two metres lower in the water. Now, this has been shown to effectively reduce the mortality of marine mammal bycatch by 98 per cent in places like the Indian Ocean. Finally, the growth of aquaculture, which is fish farmed in pens or ponds, could ease some of the pressure on wild stocks.

Today, more than 50 per cent of the fish that we eat is farmed. Of course, these measures that I’ve been speaking about come with their own challenges. If we take aquaculture, for example, critics say aquaculture’s practises for sourcing feed harm food security in poorer countries. That’s because it hoovers up small species of fish, which the local communities rely on for food in order to make fishmeal for the aquaculture farms.

Another huge challenge facing authorities is simply the sheer number of fishing boats in the world, many of which are unregulated. Now, according to the FAO, illegal or unregulated fishing accounts for some 20 per cent of what’s caught, or around 26mn tonnes of fish every year. Regulating fisheries has always been a highly political issue. But no matter how difficult the problem of overfishing is to solve, it cannot be ignored.

If there’s one thing that consistently worries the financial advice sector, it’s the looming capacity crunch.

The statistics are well known: a recent Investec survey found 49% of financial advisers and planners intended to retire within the next five years, while 35% aimed to retire by age 50. And this is only the latest in a long line of such findings.

So, why aren’t these numbers being replaced? Again, it’s a familiar story: in some cases, young people see financial advice as not relevant to them, as something “stuffy and old-fashioned”, in the words of the LIBF’s John Somerville.

These initiatives are a great starting point, but they should act as a spur for a much bigger push

Others may feel, incorrectly, that they lack the necessary skills. Or they are put off by the routes to qualification, seeing them as arduous and expensive. Or the advice firms themselves are reluctant to invest in new talent.

But the overwhelming problem is a lack of awareness. According to the CII’s Claire Bishop, “Often, it’s just not something that’s on the radar of people at school, university or college.” The same is true for careers advisers.

This is despite the opportunities financial advice offers in terms of role diversity, opportunity, location, salary and self-employment. It is a sector that suits a wide range of talent and abilities; as Bishop puts it: “There’s an assumption that it’s all about maths. And it’s not. It’s about helping people and understanding people.”

All of the schemes agree that collaboration is vital

And, while no one would describe it as an easy profession, research last year by Dynamic Planner revealed that nine in 10 advisers under 30 would recommend financial advice as a career. There aren’t many other professions that could make that claim.

So, it’s time the sector pulled together and did more to promote itself. If financial advice is so rewarding, why don’t more people know about it? And, if everyone in the profession is agreed that we have a problem, why not collaborate more on the solutions?

Fortunately, there are plenty of initiatives out there that are doing just that. This month’s cover feature highlights four of them: CII’s virtual work-experience programme with Springpod; the New Talent Alliance; The Verve Foundation’s ‘We Are Change’ initiative; and Future Financial Adviser.

In some cases, young people see financial advice as not relevant to them, as something stuffy and old-fashioned

All of these are promoting opportunities to young people and assisting them on their journey. All of them are helping to push financial advice into the spotlight. And all of them agree that collaboration is vital.

However, we need to do more. These initiatives are a great starting point, but they should act as a spur for a much bigger push.

So, if you know of a project that is addressing the adviser gap, or you have any thoughts that aren’t addressed in our feature, we’d love to hear from you!

Tom Browne is editor of Money Marketing. Contact him at: tom.browne@moneymarketing.co.uk

This article featured in the October 2024 edition of Money Marketing. 

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