Water Bills and Graduate Jobs

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A record number of households across England and Wales are now getting social tariffs from water suppliers to help cut their bills. Two million households now get support according to a new report from the Consumer Council for Water, which is up by 22% on last year. It comes as nearly 3 million are now in debt to water companies, owing an average of £744. What's behind that rise?

If you're a recent graduate - or you know one - then you're probably already aware of how tough the jobs market can be right now. Several recent reports show finding work with a new degree has got harder in recent years. We'll look at what help there is for graduates.

New data shows that hundreds of thousands of former students are eligible for nearly £100 million pounds worth of refunds on their loans. How can you apply?

And how can banks do more to support people with learning disabilities?

Presenter: Felicity Hannah Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Eimear Devlin Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson

(First broadcast on Radio 4 at 12pm, Saturday 15th November 2025)

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.
0:07.0	My Christmas Mix is pure 90s festive nostalgia.
0:11.1	You know, the Christmas songs you listen to on repeat.
0:14.0	Ho!
0:14.3	Ho! Ho! No, no, no.
0:17.5	I'm all about the big hitting Christmas anthems.
0:20.4	Come on, guys. What about those tunes that really slay?
0:23.7	It's Christmas kitchen disco season, surely.
0:26.4	Give me hip-hip-christmas bangers every day.
0:28.6	Those Christmas tracks that are straight out of Lapland.
0:30.9	Get all kinds of Christmassy.
0:32.6	Just search Christmas music on BBC Sounds.
0:35.8	Hello, in today's Moneybox podcast, as graduates struggle to find work in a tough jobs market,
0:41.6	what help is out there for them?
0:43.5	The former students who could be eligible for a refund on their loans, and how could
0:47.7	banks do more to support people with learning disabilities?
0:51.1	But first, a record number of households across England and Wales are now getting
0:55.3	access to cheaper bills from their water supplier. Two million now gets support through what's
0:59.9	known as a social tariff. That's according to a new report from the Consumer Council for Water.
1:05.3	It's up by 22% on last year. And that's a big help. But the report also shows almost three million bill
1:12.8	payers are now in debt to water companies, owing an average of £744 on their bills. People like
1:19.9	Neil. I just kept opening them, reading them, going, I'll do that tomorrow. I'll do that
	...

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