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Rules for travelling to the USA from the UK explained: tests, vaccines and more

By Sarah James

The US eased travel restrictions for visitors from the UK in November 2021, with rules around testing eased in June 2022. Find out what all this means for your trip.

Can I travel to the USA?

Yes. Since November 2021, international travellers from the UK have been able to visit the USA. Between November 2021 and May 2023, this was on the condition that travellers were fully vaccinated. We were on the first flight out in early November 2021, so have first-hand experience of the process.

What Covid tests do I need to travel to the USA?

As of June 2022, the requirement for air travellers to show proof of a negative test to enter the USA has been dropped.

"We are able to take this step because of the tremendous progress we've made in our fight against the virus. We have made lifesaving vaccines and treatments widely available and these tools are working to prevent serious illness and death, and are effective against the prevalent variants circulating in the US and around the world," a senior official said in a statement.

Do I need to be vaccinated to go to the USA?

At the time of writing (2 May 2023), yes – most international air travellers need to show proof of being fully vaccinated to enter the USA. Any vaccine approved for use by the World Health Organisation or by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be accepted, including AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and others. The final vaccine dose must have been administered at least 14 days before travelling.

From 11 May 2023, the US will end the vaccination requirements for interntational travellers. This is when the coronavirus public health emergency ends.

Can unvaccinated people travel to the USA?

Until 11 May, to enter the USA unvaccinated you must have been granted an exception or be a US Citizen, US National, or US Lawful Permanent Resident. You can find out if you qualify as an exception to the rules by reading the list outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) .

After 11 May, you don't need to be vaccinated to travel to the USA.

Do I need to wear a face mask in the USA?

Rules on wearing masks differ in each state and in different settings, so it's important to check before you travel, however there are currently no states requiring people to wear masks in public spaces. You may be required to wear a mask in certain settings, such as healthcare facilities.

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COVID-19 international travel advisories

If you plan to visit the U.S., you do not need to be tested or vaccinated for COVID-19. U.S. citizens going abroad, check with the Department of State for travel advisories.

COVID-19 testing and vaccine rules for entering the U.S.

• As of May 12, 2023, noncitizen nonimmigrant visitors to the U.S.  arriving by air  or  arriving by land or sea  no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 
• As of June 12, 2022,  people entering the U.S. no longer need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test . 

U.S. citizens traveling to a country outside the U.S.

Find country-specific COVID-19 travel rules from the Department of State.

See the  CDC's COVID-19 guidance for safer international travel.

LAST UPDATED: May 23, 2024

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U.S. Travelers Will Soon Have to Pay to Enter the U.K.

By Sarah James

U.S. visitors—as well as visitors from Europe , Australia and Canada —will soon be required to apply for permission to enter the U.K. through a new scheme known as Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).

The U.K. government is in the process of fully digitizing U.K. borders by the end of 2025—and the ETA scheme will play its part, allowing “individuals, and carriers, with more assurance at an earlier point in time about their ability to travel to the U.K.,” the government said.

The scheme will be in place by the end of this year (2023), and visitors will be required to fill out an online application granting them permission to travel. There will be a small fee included in the application—similar to how the U.S.'s own ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) system works for U.K. travelers.

Here's everything we know.

Will I need a visa to enter the U.K.?

This isn't technically a visa—the ETA system will grant travelers permission to enter the country. You will need to apply for an ETA prior to arrival. If you haven't received permission to travel before arrival, you may get fined.

Travelers from the U.S. will soon need to apply for permission to enter the U.K.

How long will it take to get an ETA?

Travelers will be advised to apply for an ETA at least a few days before their journey. Approval should be granted within 72 hours of application.

How long will an ETA last?

After your ETA has been approved, visitors will be granted permission to stay in the U.K. for six months, whether for business or tourism reasons.

The U.K. government is yet to confirm how often visitors will need to apply for a new ETA, but it's likely to be valid for two years—meaning there's no need to apply for a new one every time you visit within the valid time period.

Visitors with valid ETAs can stay—and travel—in U.K. for up to six months.

How much will an ETA cost?

We don't know yet—but the government has said that the cost will be small. The EU implemented a similar system in 2022, which costs €7. A U.S. ESTA, meanwhile, costs $21.

Who will need to apply for an ETA?

The full list of nations included hasn't been announced yet. We do know that U.S. citizens who don't hold a visa will need to apply for an ETA, as will other visa-exempt nations such as Canada and Australia. European countries are likely to be included, too.  Those traveling from nationalities without a visa-free agreement with the UK will still need to apply for another applicable type of UK visa.

What will I need to apply for an ETA?

You'll need a valid passport , an email address to register with, and to supply the details of your travel, as well as a valid debit or credit card to pay any fees to apply.

To keep up to date with the latest information on the ETA scheme, check the official website for more details as they become available.

This article originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveller U.K.  

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UK travel rules: Johnson to push for holidays in US

The ban on British tourists entering the United States could be lifted within two months, paving the way for Christmas holidays, even as a scientific adviser to the government warned that increasingly relaxed travel restrictions could raise the risk of new coronavirus variants being imported.

Boris Johnson, on his first visit to the White House since the US election and his first big foreign trip since the pandemic began, is due to press President Biden to lift the restrictions imposed on travellers from the UK. The UK relaxed its restrictions on US citizens at the start of August, allowing double-jabbed people to enter without quarantining for ten days. Further restrictions, including the need for a PCR test, will be removed for vaccinated travellers entering and leaving England next month.

Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours, which feeds into the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, told Sky News that moving away from PCR tests “stops our ability to trace different variants and increases the probability of infected people coming into the country. So I think it has increased the risk, quite frankly, and I think we should have improved the system, rather than by and large abandoning it.”

Key figures within the airline industry believe that the US travel ban first imposed 18 months ago could be lifted in November, just before the Thanksgiving holiday. The move, which will only apply to fully vaccinated travellers, would open the door to Christmas breaks in cities such as New York, with airlines reporting huge pent-up demand for transatlantic travel.

The US was the fourth most-popular country for travel by British citizens in 2019, with 4.8 million visits. Only Spain, France and Italy proved more popular.

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Downing Street said that Johnson saw his visit to the White House tomorrow as an opportunity to discuss how to reopen international travel. The prime minister will also have an opportunity to put UK-US travel on the broader Washington agenda in meetings with Kamala Harris, the vice-president, and congressional leaders from both parties, including Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell.

The prime minister, who was due to land in New York last night, will meet today the leaders of Brazil, South Korea, Turkey and Spain, and Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and chairman. He will also take part in a climate roundtable with António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general.

Tim Alderslade, the chief executive of Airlines UK, which represents transatlantic carriers such as BA and Virgin Atlantic, said: “The US is one of our most indispensable markets, worth billions every year to both countries in trade and tourism. Our exports can never reach their true potential as long as this key air link remains closed to British companies, and we urge both governments to redouble their efforts to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”

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Cut extra red tape for Heathrow airport transit passengers, Lords committee urges government

‘this requirement will place the uk at an immediate competitive disadvantage’ – lord foster of bath, article bookmarked.

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The demand for passengers merely changing planes at Heathrow to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) should be dropped, a Lords committee says.

The Justice and Home Affairs Committee of the House of Lords has written to Tom Pursglove, minister for Legal Migration and the Border, with strong criticism of the scheme – and citing that the need for an ETA is already driving away transit travellers.

An Electronic Travel Authorisation is currently required from nationals of Gulf countries, plus Jordan and Saudi Arabia, travelling to the UK. The scheme is due to be extended to most nationalities by the autumn of 2024 and to EU citizens (except Irish nationals) by spring 2025.

Within a year, 30 million annual visitors, as well as transit passengers passing through London Heathrow and other airports, will be required to fill in an online form and pay £10.

Unlike all the major Continental European hubs, including Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris CDG, international passengers at Heathrow must enrol for an ETA even if they plan to remain “airside” of a couple of hours between flights.

With a multiplicity of possible international routings, the British aviation industry fears passengers will switch away from the UK .

Heathrow airport says in the initial three months since Qatar became the first nationality subject to the new rule, the number of transit passengers from the Gulf state dropped by 14,000.

The Lords committee chair, Lord Foster of Bath, wrote: “We received strong representations from witnesses that this requirement will place the UK at an immediate competitive disadvantage compared to its European neighbours.”

He urged the government to drop the demand for foreign transit passengers to have an ETA even when transiting at London Heathrow airport “unless there are strong security reasons to the contrary”.

The minister earlier told the committee: “There are massive security benefits here that I would not want to undermine.

“There are security risks associated with airside transit.”

The concern is that a passenger could board a flight to Heathrow with an onward connection booked but end their journey in the UK.

In his letter, Lord Foster responded: “If the primary concern is about the potential ‘leakage’ of passengers from airside areas then this should be addressed in other ways. The government should work with the airports to find a solution.”

The cross-party committee also criticises the ETA process for travellers from abroad who want to visit the UK. Prospective visitors are not asked for the purpose of their visit, nor how long they intend to stay.

“We recommend strengthening the line of questions to deter those wishing to enter the country without sufficient self-funding and a departure date,” the committee says.

The Lords also say information about the ETA should be available in French, German and Spanish as well as English, and that much more publicity is needed ahead of the future rollout.

A government spokesperson said: “The introduction of Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is part of the digital transformation of the UK border system, and enhances security by increasing our knowledge about those seeking to come to the UK and preventing the arrival of those who pose a threat.”

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Statistical Press Release - Travel to and from School by Pupils in Northern Ireland 2022/23 report

Date published: 22 May 2024

• Statistics and research

The Travel to and from School by Pupils in Northern Ireland 2022/23 report has been published today.

This report, produced by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), presents findings from the 2022/23 Continuous Household Survey (CHS).

The publication is available on the new Active Travel and Public Transport webpage .

Primary School

• For main mode of travel, 62% of pupils were driven to/from school by car and 30% usually walked. A further 7% took a bus and 1% cycled to and/or from school. 
• Of those who walked to school, 95% of primary school pupils walked all of the way to/from school. Thirty-nine percent spent 10 minutes or less walking to and from school and 39% spent 11-20 minutes.
• Forty-nine percent of primary school pupils live a mile or less from school and of these, 39% were driven to school by car and 56% walked to school.

Post Primary School

• Amongst post-primary school pupils, 42% travelled to/from school by bus as their main mode of travel while 36% travelled to/from school by car. A further 21% pupils walked to/from school, while 2% took the train.  
• Of those who walked to school, 81% of post primary school pupils walked all of the way to/from school. Thirty-one percent of post-primary school pupils spent 10 minutes or less walking to and from school, 39% spent 11-20 minutes and 14% spent 21-30 minutes.
• For post-primary school pupils, 51% lived 4 or more miles from their school. Of these pupils, 64% travelled by bus and 29% were driven by car.

Notes to editors: 

• The information presented in this publication derives from the 2022/23 Continuous Household Survey (CHS) in relation to Travel to and from School. The CHS is considered to be a representative sample of the population at household level.
• A total of 2,527 adults aged 16 and over were surveyed in 2022-23.
• The report provides annual statistics on the main method of travel to/from school and the proportion of primary school and post primary school pupils who walk and cycle to school .
• The information may be used by the Department to monitor the overall effect of the initiatives that are aimed at increasing the proportion of children who travel actively to school.
• Note: Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, NISRA suspended all face-to-face household interviews in March 2020. In the reporting periods, April 2020 - March 2021 and April 2021 - March 2022, all interviews carried out on the Continuous Household Survey (CHS) were conducted by telephone. For this reporting year, April 2022 - March 2023, face to face interviewing was reinstated alongside telephone interviewing in July 2022, thus making the survey dual-modality. There are a number of factors. which users should take into consideration when interpreting the 2022-23 results and care should be taken when comparing these to previously published findings from the survey.

Official Statistics

The statistical report has been produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, complying with the pillars of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value. You can find further information about the Code of Practice on UK Statistics Authority website .

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• For more information relating to this publication, including alternative formats, please contact:
• Telephone: (028) 90255166         
• (Text relay prefix 18001)
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Website: DfI Statistics and research
• All media queries should be directed to the Department for Infrastructure Press Office at:  [email protected]
• The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
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• Infrastructure Minister appoints Newry, Mourne and Down Councillors to the Board of Warrenpoint Harbour Authority 24 May 2024
• Statistical Press Release - Travel to and from School by Pupils in Northern Ireland 2022/23 report 22 May 2024

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Money blog: Can my lender end my fixed-rate mortgage early?

A reader wants to know why her two-year fixed mortgage is ending after 18 months - we get an expert to take a look. Read this in our weekend edition of the Money blog below and leave your thoughts in the comments box. We'll be back with regular updates after the bank holiday on Tuesday.

Monday 27 May 2024 11:51, UK

Weekend Money

• 'My mortgage lender is ending my two-year fix and I haven't been in the house for two years - can they do this?'
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• Inflation, election and energy bills: What a big week of announcements means for your pocket
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Ask a question or make a comment

Every Monday we get an expert to answer your money problems or consumer disputes. Find out how to submit yours at the bottom of this post. Today's question is...

I bought my first flat in April 2023 with a two-year fixed-rate mortgage. I got the deal with the help of a broker, who has now contacted me saying my deal is due to end in November - significantly earlier than I had expected. I've spoken to my lender - they said the deal I was on no longer exists. Is there anything I can do to keep my current rate?  Michelle, Kent

We asked David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages , to answer this one...

Fixed mortgage rates do what they say on the tin and lock in the interest rate payable for a specified period of time.  Those periods will generally be blocked into market sectors and so are usually tagged as two, three or five-year fixed rates.  

Once that deal is taken, the terms cannot be changed by the lender and the rate can't be brought to an end early.

Some lenders will fix their deals for a specific number of years from completion, but a lot of lenders' rates will be fixed until a specific end date. That could mean that the fix will last even longer than two years at the point that the application is made.

However, it can take time to complete a deal, especially when purchasing a property which may be subject to a lengthy chain. 

Mortgage offers will typically be valid for up to six months. If you originally agreed to buy your flat before the end of 2022 then the deal on offer at the time could feasibly have been fixed until November 2024. 

That could have equated to two years or more when you applied but if it took some time to complete the purchase, it would explain why you feel that you haven't benefited from a full two years of the fixed rate.

It would be a good idea to look back at the original mortgage offer, which will specify all the product details. That will detail when the fixed rate ends and what rate the mortgage will move onto after that. 

That's likely to be a higher variable rate, so it makes sense to shop around for a better deal well before the current rate comes to an end. 

A broker will be able to help you work out the best available rates for you, whether from your current lender or from across the whole market. 

This feature is not intended as financial advice - the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about.  Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute via:

• The form above - you need to leave a phone number or email address so we can contact you for further details
• Email [email protected] with the subject line "Money blog"
• WhatsApp us  here

By Bhvishya Patel , Money team

Pocket money is in decline, data shows - but kids are finding new ways to pay for their everyday "essentials".

Data from the Natwest pocket money index  (looking at transactions from 308,000 children in the Rooster app) shows only 30% of families now pay pocket money as part of a regular routine (down 2%), with children getting £3.78 on average a week (down 10p from last year).

In fact, pocket money now makes up just 14% of children's income. Instead they're finding new income streams - with a typical child netting £479.96 a year (£9.23 a week) for one-off chores or entrepreneurship.

These "salaries" obviously differ for age groups... 

• £5.68 for a six-year-old 
• £24.71 for a 17-year-old

British children are now charging extra for chores and squeezing more money out of their side hustles.

• Car cleaning earned £3.25 on average - 32% (79p) more than a year ago
• Paper round earnings increased 2% (45p) to £23.10 a week
• However, it's been a less good year for reselling - with earnings down 15% to £22.62 a week.

Arguably the most interesting part of the data is where kids are spending their money.

Amazon was top, with Tesco and McDonald's next. Primark, Co-op, PlayStation, Xbox, Sainsbury's and Asda are next in that order - but there's no place this year for Apple, which has been replaced by fashion brand Shein, rounding off the top 10.

NatWest Rooster Money said "kids' money is completely changing shape"... 

"Kids are increasingly complementing [pocket money] in other, more sophisticated ways. This move to greater independence and maturity in their earning has been fantastic to see and bodes well for some bright, financially confident futures ahead." Will Carmichael, chief executive and founder of NatWest Rooster Money

An illustration of this maturity is kids' saving rate of 9.5% - not far off the adult average of 10.2%. Gaming, holidays and the future were the top three saving incentives, in that order.

Is there a right answer?

Kirsty Ketley, a parenting specialist from Surrey, said she gave her 11-year-old daughter Ella £5 and her seven-year-old son Leo £2 a week in cash.

They both started receiving pocket money when they were six.

"I often say to parents, even with children as young as four, it's fine to start giving a bit of pocket money because it's such an important life skill to have – to learn how to manage money because you don't get taught it," she said.

Presenter and children's author Konnie Huq, who has two sons, Covey, 12, and Huxley, 10, told the Money team that a regular pocket money allowance was a "really good way" of getting children into the habit of earning and spending.

She said receiving a regular allowance helped teach children "responsibility" and "financial literacy".

"That's what they will be doing as the grown-ups they become," she said. "I've always said kids are shaping and forming between 0 to seven. You want to put the values in them now in these younger years that they will take through with them in their life."

Sharon Olivero-Chapman, chief executive and founder of Harrienna Health, disagrees. She has always thought a regular pocket money figure is the "wrong message to give to children" - and her daughter Harriet, 13, is one of those raking it in from side hustles.

"Pocket money gives them the wrong association with money," she said. "They're just given money on a plate, whereas that's not real life, is it?"

Ms Olivero-Chapman said if her daughter did want to buy something she had to work out how she could get that money and would then be given chores to earn it. She said it was £1 to unload and fill the dishwasher, £1 to fill and empty the washing machine and 50p to make her bed.

"It's not a regular thing every week," she explained.

Ms Olivero-Chapman said the family's entrepreneurial bug had rubbed off on Harriet and she began running her own Etsy store business last year which sees her personalise phone cases. Her business has earned nearly £1,000 so far.

Your pocket money stories - how much, how and in return for what

The Dursuns, Scotland

Aga Dursun, 41, a PMO analyst from Erskine, gives her 13-year-old son Galip £3 a day and her nine-year-old son Troy £1 a day via transfers into a Starling account. They also get £20 each on her pay day. No chores are required.

"It gives them a lot of freedom and they learn the value of money as well because for example now if they want more expensive trainers they have to save up," she says.

"It's mostly spent on games which breaks my heart."

The Shaws, London

Sammy Shaw, from Enfield, said she gave her eight-year-old twins Teddy and Hope £3.50 a week via the Natwest Rooster Money card.

To earn the money, her son and daughter are set a number of activities which they must complete  - if they don't, money is deducted.

"My two have got an exceptional amount they have got to do. The first thing they've got to do is make their bed, get dressed independently. When they go downstairs they've got to do 10 minutes of practice on the keyboard, they do Times Tables Rock Stars (a digital maths app) and then 10 minutes of reading. 

"The parent has to go into the app and approve these activities and if they don't do them it takes percentages off."

Last year, the twins saved up to buy theatre tickets for the family at £35 a pop.

The Regulskis, Wales

Over in Caerphilly, Dean Regulski, 44, has a fairly similar routine: money in return for washing, ironing, dog walking, laundry and vacuuming. He and his wife give kids Emmeline, Nancy and Abraham (aged 12 to 15) £10 a week also using Rooster.

"Every time they want to make a transaction, it pings my phone so straight away I can have a conversation with them about what they are buying and if it's just sweets I can limit it on the app so it's a £1 transaction," Dean says.

"My son the other day was asking if he could buy something that was beyond the £40 and I said he can take it out next month but that will cost extra chores. I explained the concept of interest to him."

The Moores, West Midlands

Ben Moore, 40, from Solihull, said his 13-year-old twin daughters had got £5 a week in pocket money for the past two years.

They used GoHenry before switching to a debit card.

"We spent a year on GoHenry and it was good because we could say 'you can't spend it on McDonald's' and restrict the type of spending but there was a monthly fee for it," he said.

Chores are not a requirement as he is "really keen" his daughters use the money to "go out with their friends rather than just sit on their phones".

The Scotts, Wiltshire

Fiona Scott, 58, from Swindon in Wiltshire, said her three children Samantha, 24, Georgia, 22, and David, 17, all got pocket money until they were able to make their own money.

"We've always had a little book at home showing this is what is coming in and going out and this is what we've got to spend, so I've encouraged them all to do that in different ways. They've got used to seeing and understanding what a household budget is," she said.

The Joneses, West Midlands

Mother-of-three Jenny Jones, 43, said her 11-year-old daughter Rebecca receives £10 a month - no chores, but everyone is expected to muck in.

It started off with 50p a week when she was seven but when she turned 11, Ms Jones opened up a junior account at Barclays and money goes in monthly.

"It's taught her general management around money. At the moment she loves bubble tea and she loves getting bits of jewellery so it's a case of her thinking what does she want, can she afford both? It enables her to make those decisions.

"It's just those life lessons, isn't it? We can't have everything we want and you've got to make those decisions - and it's okay to make the wrong decision, which is normal."

The main topics from the Money blog that got you commenting this week were...

• Known issues with Ford EcoBoost engines
• Inflation drops to 2.3% 

BT delays switch from analogue landlines

'My second-hand Ford is being written off with a known issue - but no one is taking responsibility'

Every Monday, we get an expert to answer your money problems or consumer disputes. 

This week, Rory Raftery told us about a known issue with his Ford C-Max which had caused it to be written off. He asked if there was anything he could do. 

Dozens of readers wrote in to say they had similar issues. 

Money Blog, I had a Ford Focus with an EcoBoost Engine that failed after 62k miles on it, and Ford won't entertain any responsibility because not full Ford service history, offered no help whatsoever, have and are being treated appallingly at every level. Damian Moynihan

Bought a second hand EcoBoost 1.0 13 plate Focus from a broker… had it less than three months and the car has had sudden coolant loss and engine failure due to a cylinder head crack, almost a £5,000 repair. Ford need to be held accountable for this, it's ridiculous... no warning light, no temperature rises and then bang the car's engine is finished. The car has covered 73,000 miles. Gareth from Wigan

The Ford EcoBoost problem has prompted a recall for US cars with the exact same issue. Yet in the UK Ford are doing nothing about the issue. There is a Facebook page with over 20k members all experiencing the same issue and Ford refuse to acknowledge the issue, in the UK at least. anonymous

Here's what Ford had to say when we published Rory's problem: "Ford is confident in the robustness and reliability of its EcoBoost engine technology when the stated guidelines for maintenance and service are followed. 

"Ford UK is happy to investigate service support and/or compensation measures for any customer who believes they have had an EcoBoost engine issue and is happy to review cases with a full-service history for vehicles up to 10 years old with less than 150,000 miles.

"For any customers in the UK whose vehicle meets these parameters, you can speak to our customer relationship team and contact details can be found on our website  here ." 

The company said timely and correct servicing as outlined in the owner's manual was key for wet belt maintenance and any illuminated dashboard warning lights should always receive attention. 

On Wednesday, we got the latest inflation figures, showing it had dropped to 2.3% in April - down from 3.2% in March.

A drop to 2.1% had been expected by the Bank of England, but it showed the fight against price rises was being won.

Here's what some readers had to say about it... 

All my experiences when I go grocery shopping don't fill me with optimism that prices are almost stabilising. Particularly household items, such as cleaning costs, are still rising steadily and frequently. An item I buy was £3 something a matter of weeks ago. This morning... £5. Su H

Am I the only person who thinks that increasing the minimum wage by 10% in April and the knock-on effect of increasing wages by more than 8% in labour intensive industries is going to cause an increase in inflation that will make a reduction in interest rates very unlikely? Rayayre

The national living wage for workers increased by 9.8% on 1 April from £10.42 to £11.44.  

Since the recent decline in inflation is largely due to energy prices, can anyone name a specific government action that influenced energy prices traded on the international market? This government can't resist taking credit for everything! Marek

You have written this story as a failure of government to bring inflation down to a level some analysts forecast, despite it being a huge drop and within a whisker of the 2% target. It reads like a piece one would expect to hear coming from a Labour politician. Tom Jeffries

I don't believe this for one moment, did my shopping yesterday the price of food is disgracefully high still and takes up most of my income as a family. Andrea

I have seen no change in the cost of living, my car insurance is up 10%, council tax did the same. Shrinkflation is still going on. Food prices may have stopped increasing, but they have not gone down. My job as an assessor had its hours and pay cut of 1/3, bills remain! StevieB

Inflation down but prices remain high, my mortgage and day-to-day bills are still cripplingly high while my wages stagnate. In real terms I've never had so little disposable income. The cost of living crisis is far from over. Kingsholm_Neil

How does UK inflation compare around the world ? KevinPB

We found the answer to this one on Wednesday...

Why are prices on certain things still expensive and will they ever go down? Nick12

On Nick's question, inflation coming down doesn't mean prices are. It just means prices are rising at a slower rate. 

For prices to drop, we would need negative inflation, which isn't common. 

But, in the April data, we did see it in the energy sector thanks to the price cap change. 

On Monday, BT Group pushed back its timetable for moving all customers off the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and on to digital landlines.

From this summer, customers who have not used their landline in the past 12 months, who do not identify as vulnerable or have additional needs, have not contacted an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) in the past 24 months and live in an area where a data sharing agreement is in place, will be switched - unless they have opted out.

Vulnerable customers or those with additional needs will start to be switched from summer 2025, with the aim to have all customers moved off the old analogue PSTN by the end of January 2027.

We have a thatched house and no mobile signal. We signed up to Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) and despite protests, we were "upgraded" to digital voice at "no extra cost". Time to give us back our copper which always works - even when we have no electricity. Ian P

Living in a rural area where we have power cuts for different reasons and internet signal is non-existent without Wi-Fi, how will we stay connected? Melanie

I live in Lancaster but my signal is so poor that I have to ask family to call me on my landline. How on earth are we supposed to manage without one? Pat

Three big announcements this week could have significant implications for the money in your pocket.

First, April's inflation data , which on the face of it was good news. 

Price rises slowed to 2.3%, within touching distance of the Bank of England's 2% target and into what economists regard as normal levels.

The Bank has repeatedly stressed that interest rates (which have been elevated to squeeze spending and encourage saving, which usually stops prices going up so quickly) would start to fall when the 2% figure was sustainably hit.

Herein lies the issue - sustainability. Because while headline CPI has fallen dramatically from highs of more than 11% in 2022, a closer look at the numbers suggests the fight against price rises isn't over just yet.

Core inflation, which strips out the volatile elements like energy and food, remains at 3.9% - while service inflation is at 5.9%. All of these numbers, including the headline figure, are above forecasts.

All of which has prompted markets to price in an August rate cut from 5.25% to 5% - previously they'd expected June.

Economics editor Ed Conway wrote this analysis...

Some suggested the fall in inflation, combined with the IMF upgrading UK growth forecasts , provided Rishi Sunak with a positive platform on which to call a summer election.

Conway isn't so sure.

He says: "We're out of recession. That's one of the key things they were waiting for. Inflation is now down to a normal level. Those things have been ticked off [but] there are a couple of issues. 

"First of all, it doesn't look like, with inflation not falling quite as far as everyone would have expected, that the final thing they were hoping for, the Bank of England cutting interest rates, is going to happen in June. There probably is not going to be an interest rate cut before the election. That's quite significant.

"Secondly, when people look at this election, it's that old question: do you feel better off than you did four or five years ago? 

"And in this case, there is no parliamentary period in history where people have seen their real disposable incomes squeezed as much as this one. 

"That's what the prime minister's fighting against."

We took a closer look at what the election and new interest rate forecasts mean for mortgages and the housing market here...

We also examined what the election result on 4 July could mean for people's finances, honing in on what we know about the major parties' plans from childcare to train fares to tax...

Finally, energy bills will fall again in July after Friday's price cap announcement.

They'll be £122 (annually) below the April-June figure.

However, daily standing charges are going up - which means those who use more energy will feel the most benefit from the price cap fall...

Sir Keir Starmer told us that Labour's plan for a new company called Great British Energy would help bring prices down...

And business presenter Ian King explained why energy bills are still £300 more than before the Ukraine war...

The Money blog is your place for consumer news, economic analysis and everything you need to know about the cost of living - bookmark news.sky.com/money.

It runs with live updates every weekday - while on Saturdays we scale back and offer you a selection of weekend reads.

Check them out this morning and we'll be back on Monday with our regular Money Problem feature - and full rolling news and features after the bank holiday on Tuesday. 

The Money team is Emily Mee, Bhvishya Patel, Jess Sharp, Katie Williams, Brad Young and Ollie Cooper, with sub-editing by Isobel Souster. The blog is edited by Jimmy Rice.

Cara Delevingne's childhood home is up for sale - but it's come to market with a huge £23.5m price tag. 

The 5,456 sq ft property in London's Belgravia was also home to controversial casino and zoo owner John Aspinall in the 1960s. 

Mr Aspinall and the mansion were also linked to the disappearance of Lord Lucan in 1974 - a mystery that still hasn't been solved. 

After he died in 2000, the five-bedroom house was bought by Charles and Pandora Delevingne - the parents of supermodel Cara and her older sisters Chloe and Poppy.

The Grade II-listed building on Lyall Street comes with two reception rooms, a study, a home cinema and a professional chef's kitchen. 

A gym, sauna, steam room and rooftop cocktail bar are also included. 

In around 2014, with their daughters grown up, the Delevingnes moved from the Lyall Street mansion and downsized.

The current owners bought the house a couple of years later and have given the mansion an extensive renovation and modernisation. 

"It is one of the best houses currently available for sale in Belgravia and is immaculately presented and beautifully interior designed," said Charles Lloyd, head of Beauchamp Estates. 

The reason for the fall in the household energy price cap is pretty straightforward - wholesale electricity and gas prices have fallen since the price cap was last set in February this year.

Wholesale gas and electricity prices make up by far the biggest proportion of the energy bills - £720 of the current £1,690 - and Ofgem is assuming, for July, August and September, a wholesale electricity price of 22.36 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh), down from 24.50 pence per kWh during the current quarter.

It is also assuming a wholesale gas price of 5.48 pence per kWh from July to September, down from 6.04 pence per kWh during the current quarter.

That brings down the wholesale energy component of the typical bill (which is based on an assumption that a household will use 12,000 kWh per year of gas and 2,900 kWh of electricity) from £720 to £619.

The question some people may have, though, is why the energy price cap that Ofgem has set for the three months from July remains higher, at £1,568, than the level at which it was set - £1,277 - at the time the energy crisis was sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

At first blush, this seems a reasonable enough question, given that a barrel of Brent Crude - a reasonable enough proxy for wholesale energy prices - stands today at $80.78 (£63.50) per barrel, down from the heights it hit after the invasion.

But bear in mind that, in those days, the price cap was only set by Ofgem every six months, rather than quarterly as at present.

The price cap in place immediately before the crisis came into effect on 1 October 2021 having been set on 6 August that year.

Prior to that, wholesale energy prices had been lower than they are now. The wholesale energy component for the price cap for the winter of 2021/22 was, accordingly, £528 - lower than the £619 it will be from July.

Other costs taken into account by Ofgem are also higher now than they were before Russia invaded Ukraine.

The UK needs "longer term solutions" on energy prices because they are still "record high almost", Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Labour leader was commenting on a fall in the energy price cap.

From 1 July it will be £1,568 a year - a drop of £122 from the previous quarter. 

But Sir Keir said many people were still struggling to make ends meet.

"Everywhere I go, so many people tell me the cost of living is still bearing down on them," he told Sky News.

"People on a mortgage, [those] coming off a fixed mortgage, know their mortgages are going up by hundreds of pounds.

"Everybody knows prices are still going up - energy prices are still record high almost."

He added: "We need longer term solutions."

Labour's proposed Great British Energy (GBE) would help energy prices "come down for good", Sir Keir claimed.

GBE would be a publicly owned company with a mandate to invest in clean energy – wind, solar, tidal, nuclear and other emerging technologies. It would be designed to invest in riskier areas where the private sector might be reluctant.

Asked when energy prices would drop under GBE, and how quickly it could be established, he said: "Certainly by the end of the parliament, and a lot sooner than that.

"We can set up Great British Energy pretty quickly."

Discussions are already under way with potential partners, he added.

Claire Coutinho, the energy secretary, told Sky News that Great British Energy is a "complete gimmick" and a "drop in the ocean".

She also accused Labour of having "no plan" on energy security.

Putting off "life admin" could be costing you thousands of pounds a year, research has suggested.

It is estimated that adults in the UK could save £300 a year by cancelling unused subscriptions, £420 by reviewing their day-to-day finances, and £372 by re-evaluating a gym membership. 

"On average, Brits admit to putting off simple tasks by four to six months," Lloyds Bank said.

When asked why they had been delaying, almost a fifth (18%) said there was no deadline, one in seven (16%) said it was easier to take no action, while for 13% the memory of previous difficulties was off-putting.

Turning to the future, a fifth (20%) admitted not having a pension, while only two fifths (42%) knew how to add more money to their pension if they had one. 

If you are looking for a detailed analysis of today's cut in the energy price cap (see our breaking news post from 7am) then the following from Martin Lewis is worth digesting.

The founder of Money Saving Expert has split his reaction into three sections.

Lewis says the cap will drop on 1 July by an average of 7.2% for Direct Debit customers, 6.9% for prepay customers, and 7.1% for those who pay when they get a bill.

The cap will fall to £1,568 a year - a drop of £122 from the previous quarter. 

Standing charges (what you pay regardless of how much energy you use) "remain high" and are "virtually unchanged", Lewis says.

"All the cut" is via unit rates, he adds.

That means those who use more energy will be seeing bigger savings.

The electricity unit rate for Direct Debit customers from July will be 22.36p/kwH - down 9% from 24.5p, Lewis says.

The electricity standing charge will be 60.12p a day - up from 60.1p.

The gas unit rate will be 5.48p/kwH - down 9% from 6.04p.

And the gas standing charge will be 31.41p - slightly down from 31.43p.

Lewis says the results of a consultation on standing charges are likely to be published sometime in the "summer", adding: "Whenever that is."

As we reported in our post at 7.34am, respected market researcher Cornwall Insight is predicting that bills are likely to rise once more in the run-up to winter. 

Lewis comments: "If they're right this is the last fall, and the coming rises are big.

"On 1 July it's confirmed [the cap] drops 7%, so for every £100 paid today you pay £93. 

"Then on 1 Oct it's predicted to rise 12%, so you'll go back up and be paying £104. 

"Then on 1 Jan the crystal ball is saying it'll stay flat (at £104). 

"All this makes the cheapest fixes, which are currently 9% cheaper than now (so £91 per £100 on the price cap), look a decent bet."

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26,000 travel diaries distributed in Walsall to mark Walk to School Week

Published on 21 May 2024

This week (Monday 20 May – Friday 24 May 2024) is Walk to School Week.

And families across the borough are being encouraged to complete a five-day travel diary, marking off each day they travel actively to or from school.

26,000 travel diaries have been sent out to schools in Walsall, which includes a daily activity for children, a weather check, and encourages children to think about the benefits walking to school can have upon them and their family.

The campaign runs alongside the council’s A*STARS (Active Sustainable Travel and Road Safety) programme, which works with over 80% of primary schools across the borough.

The programme delivers and supports a range of initiatives which encourage children and families to walk, cycle and use other forms of active travel for the school journey.

As part of the programme, schools complete an annual travel survey, with the most recent results showing schools affiliated with the A*STARS programme have 7% higher active travel results, and 6% lower car usage levels compared to the national average.  

“ Walk to School Week is all about getting more families in Walsall to walk, ride, scoot, or even ‘park and stride’ to or from school. In our busy lives, it can often feel much easier to jump in the car in a rush, but walking to school really can have positive impacts on our families physical and mental health and help reduce pollution. We know from our residents that congested roads and traffic jams around school gates can often cause frustration, and even pose additional risks in and around the school environment. So, for those who can, try travelling to school actively this week, and be sure to use the travel diaries we’ve distributed! “ Councillor Gary Flint, Portfolio Holder for Wellbeing, Leisure and Public Spaces Walsall Council

Notes to editors

Walsall's Walk to School Week initiative is being promoted as part of the local A*STARS programe (Active Sustainable Travel and Road Safety).

A*STARS is delivered in partnership with Public Health and is a series of walking, wheeling and road safety initiatives, along with training, expertise and support that is given to schools to help them to develop and promote safer, healthier lifestyle choices for all.

For more information see: www.astarswalsall.co.uk  

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