Money Box – Numeracy Review and Petrol Prices

Available for over a year

A new survey has suggested nearly a third of people in the UK believe they lost money last year because of their poor maths skills. One estimate puts the cost of innumeracy at £25 billion per year. To try and tackle this the government has asked a House of Lords committee to investigate. We’ll hear from its chair, Lord Agnew.

The price of petrol is the highest it has been for almost four years. It was autumn 2022 when petrol last topped 160p a litre. We’ll look at why that is and what you can do try and bring the costs down.

It’s 50 years since the creation of the first index fund for ordinary investors – spearheaded by John Bogle, the founder of the American investment company The Vanguard Group. What was its impact on investing today?

And, why more than £1.5 billion languishing in unclaimed, government-backed Child Trust Funds will be the focus of a new review by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Catherine Lund
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson

(First broadcast 12pm on Saturday 5th September 2026)

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