Family & Health

A reform of social care funding, a free vote on fox-hunting and plans to leave the European single market as part of Brexit – those are the three Conservative Party manifesto pledges consumers would most like to see dropped by the new Government in Wednesday's Queen's Speech, according to a new poll of MoneySavingExpert.com users.

Much of the UK has been sweltering in the sunshine over the past few days and it's not over yet, with Wednesday predicted to be the fifth day in a row when temperatures top 30°C. To help, we've compiled a list of MoneySaving ways to survive the sizzle – with some help from MoneySavers who've offered their own tips and tricks.

A bride-to-be won a £10,000 wedding in central London after entering a competition listed on MoneySavingExpert.com's 'comping' forum board.

A large number of parents have been hit by technical problems which continue to dog the Government's new 'Childcare Service' website, a survey of more than 300 of the site's users reveals – with some parents forced to pay twice for childcare and others left facing childminders' fines.

Parents signed up to the new Tax-Free Childcare scheme have told MoneySavingExpert.com they're unable to access money they've put into it and are struggling to pay nurseries and childminders, as massive technical problems continue to dog the site more than a month after it launched.

Every piece of consumer protection that safeguards individuals under current EU law will be enshrined in new UK law post-Brexit, both major parties have promised.

Parents and carers trying to register for key Government childcare schemes are still encountering technical problems – nearly two weeks after MoneySavingExpert.com first revealed the website was affected by intermittent set-backs.

The Conservative Party has launched its election manifesto with a series of pledges directly affecting consumers, including a price cap on standard variable energy tariffs, clearer mobile phone bills, means-testing of winter fuel payments, a social care shake-up and an end to the state pension 'triple lock' guarantee.

Funeral costs have risen by an average of 5% but a postcode lottery for charges means bills for burial or cremation in some parts of the country have jumped by nearly a third.