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Energy cap, Debt advice, Pet costs

The Government's draft bill on how it is going to cap energy prices; the rise in the number of people seeking debt advice; and the cost in time and money of looking after a pet.

The Government is providing the detail today about how it plans to cap energy prices. But what will it mean for your bills?
The cap will affect 18 million households on standard variable tariffs - they're the expensive default tariffs people pay if they've never switched.
We hear from the comparison website, the Big Deal, about whether this will bring an end to some of the cheapest deals currently on the market.
We also consider if the cap will mean there'll be less of an incentive to switch suppliers.

The squeeze on incomes has been going on for a long time and people are borrowing more. Stepchange, one of the UK's leading debt advice charities says 326,000 people have contacted their helpline this year. That's 16 per cent more than in the same period of 2015. We hear how their counsellors are helping people who call up about problem debt.

Almost half of all households in the UK have a pet. It costs a lot in time and money to keep one and look after it properly. Some scientific theories have explained pets as domestic parasites, creatures that prey on our need to love and nurture. But a new book, "The Animals Among Us: The New Science of Anthrozoology", turns that theory on its head. Its author John Bradshaw, from the University of Bristol tells us that far from exploiting us, pets have taught humans useful skills that have helped us survive.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Tara Holmes.

Available now

45 minutes

Chapters

  • Energy Price Cap

    The government is providing detail about how it plans to cap energy prices

    Duration: 05:06

  • John Lewis

    John Lewis releases its fifth annual report

    Duration: 05:51

  • Rural Costs

    The rate of inflation is highest in the country; where people see the steepest rises

    Duration: 05:24

  • Stepchange

    Behind the scenes at one of the UK's leading debt charities, as more people ask for help

    Duration: 08:55

  • Animal Science

    Expensive and irresistable - why do we keep pets?

    Duration: 05:40

  • Flight Complaints

    New survey finds air travellers rarely complain even when they have good cause

    Duration: 05:16

  • Tax Return

    Will HMRC's new simple assessment really make life easier for tax payers?

    Duration: 04:16

Broadcast

  • Thu 12 Oct 2017 12:13

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