You and Yours

Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

Magazines & Reviews

Factual: Consumer

You and Yours: Cladding insurance, John Lewis, Price of plants

26/08/2021

Cladding insurance, John Lewis, Price of plants

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Cladding insurance, John Lewis, Price of plants

Removing dangerous cladding, the man behind John Lewis, rocketing cost of plant imports.

The leaseholders having to quickly remove dangerous cladding, the real man behind John Lewis, and how Brexit has pushed up the price of importing plants from Europe to the UK.

The cladding scandal has left more than a million people stranded in flats that they can't sell or remortgage. Earlier this year the Government promised a new loan scheme to help flat owners in England and said no one would have to pay more than £50 a month on any loan repayments. But the loans still aren't available. Some flat owners say they can't wait any longer. They're having to agree to huge costs for the removal of unsafe cladding just to keep their buildings insured. We hear from a listener in that situation. We also speak to Lucy Brown from the UK Action Cladding Group. The Government insists it'll still be introducing a finance scheme for leaseholders in low rise buildings between 11 and 18 metres and will be publishing details on how this is going to work soon.

John Lewis is a British institution, a shop most of us have visited and have opinions about.  It has an unusual business model, where all of its 29,000 workers are partners in the business. When times are good, they pick up bonuses, sharing in the success. But who was John Lewis and how did the drive that created one of the biggest names in British retail, affect the rest of the family? We speak to the biographer Victoria Glendinning who's just written a book called 'An Intimate History of John Lewis and the Partnership'. 

The Horticultural Trade Association says the price of plants we buy in supermarkets is going up up because the cost of importing them from Europe has risen by 10% since the UK left the European Union in January. Even though we grow a lot of plants here in the UK, nurseries still import substantial amounts.  Our reporter Sam Fenwick is live from a nursery in Cheshire. 


Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Tara Holmes.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

You and Yours

Cladding insurance, John Lewis, Price of plants

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4