Best wines for the summer under £10 a bottle | Weekend Money (2024)

By Brad Young, Money reporter

If your child is approaching secondary school, you might be preparing to spend hundreds of pounds on their first smartphone.

But choosing a costly contract is just the first in a series of difficult decisions facing parents as their child gains online autonomy.

While phones bring huge benefits in terms of connectivity and independence, they also expose children to risks ranging from accidently running up bills to sexual exploitation and AI-enabled bullying.

Sky News spoke with experts in the field about what trends parents should be aware of, and what tools they can use to tackle them.

There are four categories of risks to children according Childnet, a UK-based charity for child safety online.

These are content, such as p*rnography or gambling, contact, like grooming or cyberbullying, commerce, where children have mistakenly racked up huge bills, and conduct, which includes what information a child shares online.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has revealed "a really sharp rise in young people who are being sexually exploited and groomed over the internet" without leaving their home, said Kate Edwards, the charity's associate head of child safety online.

This refers to incidents where a child is directed to take part in their own abuse, which may be filmed or photographed and shared.

Ms Edwards said young people have also been self-reporting instances of sextortion, where they "have been tricked into sharing a sexual image of themselves and then given a ransom demand" under the threat of sharing the photograph.

The charity hasreceived phone callsfrom children reporting generative AI being used to bully, groom or medically misdiagnose children, as well as calls raising concerns over pro-eating disorder or pro-suicide content.

"The age of onset for an eating disorder can be quite young... if it's around a similar age where someone might get their first phone, then it is important for parents to be aware of the risks," said Umairah Malik, clinical advice coordinator at the UK's leading eating disorder charity, Beat.

The risk of an eating disorder developing is highest for children aged 13 to 17 years, said the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Video content shared on social media is particularly hard to regulate, with those that fixate on body image or what an influencer eats in a day causing disordered behaviours to develop among vulnerable viewers.

'We gave him a loaded gun'

Social media played a role in the murder of Amanda Stephens' son, Olly, aged 13, who was lured to a field near his Reading home and stabbed to death in 2021 following an online dispute.

Ms Stephens now believes the risks posed by smartphones are too great for children to own one.

"I look back to it, I felt almost proud as we gave Olly his first phone. Now I feel like we gave him a loaded gun," she said.

"He was exposed to horrendous violence, threats, bullying, under our roof."

During the trial of two 14-year-old boys and a 13-year-old girl, Ms Stephens said she learned there waslittle policing on social media of violent language or sharing images of knives.

"In the safety of your home, they are surrounded by a billion strangers."

She's not the only one in favour of a blanket ban - the House of Commons Education Committee has advised the government to consider legislating against mobile phones for under-16s.

As it stands, phone ownership is near universal among children by age 12, according to Ofcom.

But there are tools parents can use.

"There are many tools out there to help them. I know it can feel very scary when you hear about all those risks," said Ms Edwards.

"What is important to bring across is while there are all of those risks, that does not mean that every child that uses a smartphone is going to come across those risks and that there are only risks to using this technology. There are also many benefits."

What can parents do to increase safety?

Ms Edwards said parents should have open conversations with their children, working with them to decide onrestrictions and breaking down barriers of authority between parent and child.

And whatever rules are in place, the most important thing is to "let your child know their safety comes before any rule".

A common issue raised by children via Childlineis online harm or abuse while breaking a family rule – such as using a device at night. The children were therefore fearful of getting in trouble so did not speak up, she said.

Ms Edwards said parents can contact the mobile phone operator and let them know it is a child's phone, and they will put additional barriers in place including blocks on content or spending.

At home, internet service providers offer tools to set up limits on what can be accessed via the WiFi.

CEO of Childnet International Will Gardener pointed to Apple's Family Sharing account and Google's Family Link, which connect a child's phone with their parents, enabling some control over down-time, such as switching off certain apps within particular timeframes.

They can also be used to approve payments, ensure requests for app downloads and monitor usage.

Apps also have their own safety mechanisms, said Ms Edwards, including whether someone can contact or share things about your child, or whether they can game with other people.

Parents and children should also be aware of what support mechanisms are available.

The NSCC's safety hub has more information on how to keep children safe online, while their partnership with Vodaphone has produced a toolkit for thinking about your child's first phone.

Childrencan confidentially report sexual images or videos to Childline and the IWF's Report Remove, which will work to remove them from the internet.

Any adults concerned about a child's safety or wellbeing can contact theNSPCCHelpline athelp@nspcc.org.ukor by calling 0808 800 5000. Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or childline.org.uk.

If you're worried about your own or someone else's health, you can contact Beat on 0808 801 0677 or beateatingdisorders.org.uk.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.

The one piece of Money news we need to take with us from the week just gone concerns speculation over when an interest rate cut will come.

When the Bank of England's chief economist began his speech on Wednesday, some expected he would tee up a long-awaited August rate cut.

But instead, Huw Pill dampened expectations, saying the timing of a rate reduction was still an "open question" amidstrong price pressures.

Services inflation and wage growth showed "uncomfortable strength", he said, prompting investors to rein in bets on a cut, dropping to a 50/50 chance from 62/48.

Mr Pill, a centrist on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), voted with the majority of his colleagues last month to keep interest rates at a 16-year high of 5.25%.

His more hawkish colleague Catherine Mann has signalled she is unlikely to vote for a cut next month.

She said inflation dropping to 2% was merely "touch and go" and that it would likely rise above that rate for the rest of the year.

Ms Mann added that growth in wages and services prices were still inconsistent with the Bank's target.

When will a rate cut come?

Sticky inflation is causing the Bank to hesitate "despite evidence that a high interest rateenvironment has heightened monetary conditions and also causedgrowth conditions to be more unfavourable", said Jeff Ng, headof Asia macro strategy, SMBC.

He said that while he still expects a rate cut in thecurrent quarter, odds for the first cut to come in the fourthquarter are rising.

Economic forecasters ANZ said the Bank will only have one more set of data when it meets in August, which is "unlikely to be sufficient for the MPC to be able to gain confidence on the path of inflation, and the MPC may lean in favour of waiting for more data."

It added the MPC will "have greater confidence to cut rates in September".

Of all the stories we've covered this week, none prompted more correspondence than publicans hitting out at a Co-op advert that urged people to watch the football at home (with Co-op pizzas) instead of the pub...

We have highlighted the struggles of pubs and hospitality extensively in this blog, but the bulk of your comments came out on the side of Co-op...

Pub prices are way over the top! When you are expected to pay £12 for a small wine and a beer, aren't the pubs pricing themselves out of business?

Bottos01

What is wrong with the Co-op advert? Pubs advertise to draw people into their establishments in order to sell them vastly overpriced alcohol, what is the difference? I can get four pint cans from the Co-op for the price of one pint in the pub. Come on publicans, do the maths.

Confused

Buy 4 pints and a couple of pizzas in a pub. Then starve for a week because you've blown the grocery budget. Muppets.

Mark clacton

No sympathy for the pubs. They've been pricing themselves out of the market for years. The cost of a pint in a pub is ridiculous. Perhaps they should man-up and learn to respond to a bit healthy competition!

DaveZ

I'm sure the pubs are slightly annoyed, although many other businesses need to survive. Sky News provides so much emphasis on pubs and not other businesses trying to cope in the BIG squeeze.

Fossy

Fossy will be pleased to know we have a long read coming up on the plight of pubs in the coming weeks.

Reader Richard Stubbs was among a minority batting for his local...

This IS disgraceful by the Co-op, they have been waging war on shoppers because of shoplifting, innocent shoppers stopped and searched constantly, yet staff will just stand watching whilst shoplifters fill huge bags. The pub has atmosphere!

Richard Stubbs

We also had reaction from readers on water bills, which are set to rise less than some water firms wanted over the next five years - but still by 21%.

All firms sought hefty increases to bills between 2025-30, with Southern Water leading the way with a proposed rise of almost 73%.

The want customers to pay for an investment programme to stop raw sewage dumping, build new reservoirs and reduce leaks.

Water bills to rise 21% over the next five years. Why are the customers paying for the incompetence of the men in suits? They should be made to pay for everything that needs to be done. Once again it's the public that have to foot the bill. Absolutely disgraceful and pathetic.

Colin

The proposed 21% increase in water bills is completely unacceptable due to years of neglect by water companies. I would find a maximum increase of 10% acceptable, but only if there are no pay rises, bonuses for bosses, directors, and managers, and no dividends paid to shareholders

Kam

Finally, and on a more positive note, there was praise for Tesco's decision to close Express stores at 7.30pm this Sunday so staff can watch the Euro 2024 final.

Well done Tesco for shutting your doors on Sunday so your staff can see the match. At last you have seen sense as your staff are human after all.

Jean Allco*ck

Tesco's announcement was followed by moves by Sainsbury's and Lidl...

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 rolling news and features.

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

The UK is set to lose the most millionaires of any country by 2028, a report has found.

Bucking a worldwide trend, the number of millionaires (in dollars) will fall 17% from 3.1 million people in 2023 to 2.5 million, according to Swiss bank UBS.

It joins the Netherlands as the only two countries of 56 analysed where the number of millionaires is forecast to decline - though the UK is starting with the third most millionaires to begin with, behind only the US and China.

Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, said the shift away from the UK partly reflected its millionaire tally was "disproportionately high".

He added: "You have obviously seen in the UK over the last few years, as you have seen in other countries, implications arising from sanctions against Russia."

The UK's decision to scrap non-dom status - which meant wealthy, often foreign residents did not pay tax on overseas income - had a "small effect".

"The non-indigenous millionaire population, the global population, which is constantly shifting, will be looking for low tax locations all of the time," he said.

This was "not a function of UK policies per se" but reflected the "pull factors" of other countries, such as Dubai and Singapore.

The UBS report forecast the total number of dollar millionaires in the United States would rise by 16% by 2028, in Germany by 14%, in France by 16%, in Japan by 28%, in Spain by 12% and in Italy by 9%.

The strongest growth in millionaires - of 47% - was expected to be in Taiwan, driven by the country's microchip industry.

Complaints about the banking sector have reached the highest level in at least a decade, an ombudsman has found.

A total of 80,137 cases were filed with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about banking and payment products in the latest financial year.

That compares with 61,995 in 2022/23.

Concerns about current accounts and credit cards and worries about frauds and scams were behind the increase, the service said.

Admin, customer services, affordability or irresponsible lending by financial firms were among the reasons customers complained.

Current accounts were the product people moaned about the most, with 30,635 gripes filed.

Consumers brought 24,402 credit card complaints, of which 13,584 were due to perceptions around unaffordable or irresponsible lending.

Fraud and scam cases generated 27,312 complaints.

Around half were about authorised push payment (APP) scams, where someone is tricked into sending money online to a fraudster posing as a genuine payee.

Across all financial products, the FOS upheld 37% of the complaints it resolved, which is slightly higher than the 35% recorded in 2022/23.

"The financial services sector takes complaints seriously," a UK Finance spokesperson said.

"Where things go wrong, firms will always look to put it right and provide good outcomes for customers."

The spokesperson pointed out that the financial services industry prevents more than £1bn of fraud every year, and was "the only sector which reimburses victims."

A French budget hotel chain has revealed plans to open 100 properties in the UK.

As part of its ongoing expansion, B&B Hotels is set to open the properties by 2035.

The company first launched in the UK in February with a hotel at Heathrow Terminal 5, with basic double rooms starting at around £73 a night.

Since then, it has taken over five sites in Birmingham, Ipswich, Inverness, Warrington and Derby.

The brand already operates nearly 800 sites across Europe, Brazil and the US.

Fabrice Collet, president and chief executive officer at B&B Hotels, said the move was an "important step" in the company's ambition to have 3,000 hotels in 10 years.

"Our successful growth model and commitment to value for our guests have made us a beloved brand across Europe, and we’re excited to bring that same experience to guests in the UK," he said.

England's success at the Euros might have lifted our spirits, but it's also given a "much needed boost" to the economy.

Fans of the Three Lions are expected to spend £124.9m in hospitality venues this weekend as they flock to the pub to watch the team take on Spain, a spending report by VoucherCodes found.

On Sunday alone, 17.2m pints are expected to be poured, with drink spend totalling £70.5m.

This is the highest amount at any stage during the competition and an 19% increase on Wednesday's semi-final spend of £59.3m.

Food spend is set to hit £54.3m.

For fans who couldn't secure a spot at the pub, a total of £280.1m is expected to be spent across stores as shoppers prepare to cheer on England from home.

Food and drinks sales (£202.5m) are set to make up the majority of retail spend as fans head to the supermarket, the website found.

The economic boost has been welcomed by the Night Time Industries Association, with its CEO saying the Euro final is a "golden opportunity".

Michael Kill said: "I cannot overstate the significance of England's success in the Euros for our night time economy and hospitality sector.

"Their win in the semi-finals provides us with another golden opportunity to host a massive night of football, bringing fans together across the UK.

"This event is more than just a match; it is a beacon of hope and a much-needed boost for venues, staff, and the entire community involved in nightlife and hospitality."

Airlines are putting on extra flights as tens of thousands of England football fans travel to Germany for the Euro 2024 final.

British Airways says it will operate two additional flights from Heathrow to Berlin on Sunday, where England's match against Spain takes place at 8pm.

This will boost the carrier's seat capacity for travel to the German capital by "nearly 30%", a spokesperson said.

Yesterday, the airline reported a 1,000% increase in searches for flights to Berlin, which peaked at 10.05pm - 11 minutes after England secured their place in the final by beating the Netherlands.

The first extra flight will depart Heathrow at 7.50am and arrive in Berlin at 10.40am.

But the Money team understands this flight has already sold out.

The second will leave London at 1.50pm and arrive in the German capital at 4.40pm.

A quick look on the British Airways website shows prices start at £481.

To fly to Berlin at a similar time on the day after the final, tickets start at £128.

Extra capacity has also been added to return flights on Monday 15 July to bring fans home.