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You and Yours: Smart Meters and Shared Ownership

Smart Meters and Shared Ownership

27/10/2016

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Smart Meters and Shared Ownership

Smart meters, shared ownership and late night shopping.

Does shared ownership work? We hear how it may be a success, but not as it was originally intended. Also, why smart meters feel disconnected - and late night online shopping.

Three quarters of a million private renters in poor quality homes are stuck with around £1,000 higher costs to heating bills.

The fashion and homeware retailer Oliver Bonas saw profits after tax increase by 150% last year. That's the same year in which they became the first high street retailer to pay staff the living wage. That decision will cost the business an extra £1 million pounds in salaries this year. The chain has 58 stores, the most recent one opened last week in Manchester Piccadilly train station. Oliver Tress is the CEO and founder of the Oliver Bonas brand. He tells Winifred about his vision.

The majority of people who opted for shared ownership will never be able to buy their home outright - so has shared ownership failed? 

The new breed of craft brewers sometimes lack what would seem to be a basic requirement of the trade - a brewery. Instead they hire existing breweries to knock up brew. One of the most successful Shindigger is made by a couple of entrepreneurs who paid their way through Uni knocking up home brew and selling at parties - When they wanted to get serious and open a brewery no bank would lend them the cash, instead they took their recipe and went looking for brewers with down time. They aren't alone one of the most successful gypsy brewers is Danish and his output is sold world wide. 

The switch to smart meters involves fitting up to sixty million meters all linked by their own wireless network. But the roll out has not gone to plan. We hear why.

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