KT Weekly #3: the week in numbers

Rates, savings and tax

£77.3bnONS figures show borrowing of £77.3 billion in the financial year to August 2026, £8.1 billion above the OBR forecast. The gap widened from £2.3 billion in the year to July, five weeks before the 28 October Budget. UK borrowing hits £77.3bn, £8.1bn above OBR forecast

£300mHM Revenue and Customs figures show more than £300 million paid in Help to Save bonuses since 2018, with 656,700 accounts opened and 94% of savers putting in the maximum £50 a month. The scheme becomes permanent and opens to all Universal Credit claimants from 2028. Help to Save passes £300m in bonuses ahead of 2028 expansion

0.7%Rightmove's September index shows asking prices up 0.7% to £367,440, the first rise since May, against the most crowded market for 12 years and rising fixed mortgage rates. Asking prices rise 0.7% as homes for sale hit a 12-year high

52.8%First-time buyers made up 52.8% of UK mortgage sales in 2025, up from 33.8% in 2006, ONS figures show. Their median loan-to-value ratio rose to 85.6%, the highest since before the 2008 financial crisis. First-time buyers now take 52.8% of UK mortgages, ONS finds

Bills and energy

£90mThe government has announced 90 million pounds of funding to expand heat networks and upgrade inefficient ones, benefiting more than 750,000 homes and creating over 2,000 jobs. Heat networks: £90m for 750,000 homes

£21The CMA's vets market remedies became a legal Order on 22 September 2026, starting compliance clocks for a 21 pounds prescription fee cap, published price lists, written estimates and itemised bills. CMA vets order: £21 prescription cap and published price lists

£2.4mSouthern Water has been fined 2.4 million pounds over sewage, diesel and waste releases around Faversham and Whitstable between 2019 and 2021. The Environment Agency says fines cannot be added to customer bills, and more court cases follow in December. Southern Water fined £2.4m for Kent sewage and diesel pollution

Consumer rights and scams

The UK and Cambodia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 23 September 2026 to tackle illegal scam centres, after the Minister for Fraud said more than two-thirds of fraud affecting the UK originates overseas. UK and Cambodia sign deal to dismantle online scam centres

The FCA has set out 4 red flags for people seeking debt advice, after finding some consumers were steered towards fee-charging debt solutions that may not be suitable. Free debt advice is available to everyone. FCA warns of debt advice red flags as firms push fee-paying plans

58%The FCA's final Pure Protection Market Study report found the market works well for existing customers but around 58% of adults have no life, critical illness or income protection cover. It is working with partners to prompt people at life events rather than introducing new rules. FCA targets protection gap as 58% of adults lack cover

10The Office for Product Safety and Standards published 10 product recalls between 10 to 20 September 2026, 1 rated a serious risk. Owners are asked to stop using the products and contact the seller for a refund or repair; recalls are free and do not need a receipt for safety returns. UK product recalls this week (10 to 20 September 2026): 10 items to check, from toys to a treadmill

Health and travel

€25A new paid telemedicine service for UK and Irish travellers in Europe launched on 22 September 2026. It offers online consultations with English-speaking doctors from 25 euros, with limits set by its own founder. Here is how it sits alongside the free GHIC and travel insurance. Online doctor service launches for UK travellers in Europe

100Slashtel, a UK travel eSIM and mobile recharge store operated by Kael Tripton Ltd, now sells data plans for more than 100 countries, with UK eSIMs from $1.49 and a $5.59 Arrival Bundle for new students. Slashtel launches travel eSIMs for 100+ countries, with UK plans from $1.49

Lottery and gambling

A UK version of the US game Powerball went on sale on 21 July 2026 after the Gambling Commission issued a Section 6 licence the same day. How the game works, draw days, how the shared jackpot is paid, and the player-protection conditions. Powerball launched in the UK on 21 July 2026: how the game works and what the Gambling Commission approved

£2Lotto's biggest change since 1994 launched with the draw on Wednesday 10 June 2026: every £2 line enters two rounds, odds of any prize improved from 1-in-9.3 to 1-in-4.9, and the jackpot is shared across both rounds. What the Gambling Commission approved and what it means for players. New Lotto: two rounds per draw since 10 June 2026, what changed and how the prizes now work

£10The Gambling Commission varied Allwyn's scratchcard licence on 27 July 2026 to allow £10 scratchcards in a pilot from September 2026, six years after the price point was withdrawn. What was approved, the controls, and how the trial will be judged. £10 scratchcards returned to the National Lottery in September 2026: the pilot the Gambling Commission approved

Telecoms and tech

The CMA is consulting until 9 October 2026 on requiring Google to show UK users a choice of search services, including AI assistants, on Android phones and in Chrome. CMA wants AI assistants on Google's choice screens

63.8%Schutle research on 10,560 AI responses finds ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Overviews typically name only three to five estate agencies per answer, with Knight Frank leading Central London at 63.8% and Hurford Salvi Carr leading Docklands at 30.3%. AI shortlists only three to five estate agents, study finds

18.6%Barbara Koenen-Geerdink's Beyond Billable Hours argues the billable hour no longer reflects value as AI cuts the time legal work takes. The book cites research that only 18.6% of law firm leaders implement almost all of their plans. Published by Hawksmoor Publishing on 7 October 2026. Billable hour 'no longer serves its purpose', says ex-CMO

Work and business

£35Kael Tripton testing found the UAE duty threshold sits between £195 and £210 of goods plus shipping. Adding £15 of goods at that point raised the total landed cost by about £35, as duty, VAT on the duty and a declaration fee all applied at once. Testing shows a £35 cost cliff on UK parcels to the UAE once the duty threshold is crossed

Also this week

13There were 105,961 divorces and civil partnership dissolutions in England and Wales in 2025, and the median marriage now lasts 13.0 years before divorce, the longest since 1963. Divorces in 2025: marriages now last a record 13 years

238Dr Matthieu Mielet's 238-page book Intentional Luxury argues that fine service is no longer enough, and sets out a three-dimension framework for client-facing teams in luxury retail, hospitality and high-end services. Luxury client engagement book names Cartier and Louis Vuitton adviser

400A study of 400 managers finds that rivals can make better co-development partners than suppliers when the technology is new, with market foothold and substitution risk mattering more than novelty. Rivals make the best partners for new technology, study finds

10Naturewatch Foundation research using Freedom of Information requests estimates that 86% to 89.5% of UK puppies may come from unlicensed or illegal sources, prompting calls for government action on dog breeding. 9 in 10 UK puppies may be bred outside licensing

Every story on the Kael Tripton news desk: kaeltripton.com/latest. Replies come straight to our news desk.