Aneela Aslam

King Charles is expected to publish personal tax details for 2024–25, but campaigners and royal commentators say significant exemptions and secrecy will remain. Charles voluntarily pays income tax on Duchy of Lancaster income, while the Duchy and the Duchy of Cornwall remain exempt from corporation and capital gains tax. Charles also paid no inheritance tax on the estimated £650 million inherited from Queen Elizabeth II. Prince William has not formally disclosed his tax bill despite voluntarily paying income tax on Duchy of Cornwall profits. The article also highlights the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant and the continued sealing of royal wills, prompting calls for equal taxation and greater transparency.

Chloe Goodier, a 24-year-old autism support worker from Cheshire, explains that she works 35 hours a week while receiving around £400 monthly in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for autism and ADHD. She says PIP helps cover disability-related costs such as taxis and allows her to afford ordinary living expenses, arguing that claims the benefit is a handout or rewards laziness belittle disabled people. Goodier also describes inadequate workplace understanding of autism, including distress caused by unexpected loud noises and feeling treated differently after disclosing her condition. The piece outlines proposed government changes, including increasing face-to-face assessments, and notes concerns about assessor turnover and pressure within the current system. Labour disability minister Stephen Timms has begun a review of PIP assessments.

Joanne Beverley from Barnsley found that her three secondary-school children were spending more than £80 a week on school food, including pizza, brownies, bacon sandwiches and pasta pots. By combining packed lunches with capped school spending, she reduced the cost by about £50 a week. The article links overspending and unhealthy choices to biometric cashless systems, unrestricted purchasing, long lunch queues and limited break times. A London primary-school teacher says free school meals have reduced concerns about hunger and poor nutrition, while questioning whether universal provision would work in secondary schools. Research by School Food Matters estimated the average English school meal cost at £3.27 in 2024, above the relevant free-school-meal funding rate, as food and catering costs continue to rise.

The North East avoided the worst of Storm Chandra’s flooding but faced an Arctic blast, with snow, hail, ice and bitterly cold temperatures forecast through the weekend. The Met Office warned of up to 10–15cm of snow on higher ground in northern England and Scotland, while flooding continued elsewhere in England. Further rain was expected to bring renewed disruption, particularly across Wales, central and southern England, the South West and parts of the North East, following an exceptionally wet January and a high proportion of February’s average rainfall already being recorded.

Hannah Murgatroyd, a wheelchair user with multiple disabilities, says her specially adapted Motability Ford Tourneo Custom enabled her to visit her grandmother during the final weeks of her life, work, attend appointments and remain independent. The vehicle required a £52,000 advance payment and costly joystick adaptations funded by the Motability Foundation. Another user, Imali Chislett, says her adapted SEAT Ateca is essential for work and daily life but fears that reduced vehicle choices will leave disabled people unable to find safe, suitable cars. Planned changes, including higher lease costs and the removal of luxury models, have intensified concerns about affordability and accessibility.

International student Yuhe Shen says she paid £15,520 upfront for a London flat after being told landlords expected international students to pay a year’s rent, then feared eviction following a landlord inspection. She also describes being pressured to bid above the advertised rent. Proposed Renters’ Rights Act reforms would limit upfront rent demands to one month, abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions, replace fixed-term tenancies with periodic contracts and ban rental bidding. Supporters, including Labour MP Alex Sobel, say the measures will improve student security, while letting-sector company Goodlord warns that tenants without UK guarantors could be excluded from the market and forced to pay costly guarantor-service fees.