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You and Yours: Negative budgets, Rural GPs, Childminder troubles

Negative budgets, Rural GPs, Childminder troubles

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Negative budgets, Rural GPs, Childminder troubles

The worrying trend of people unable to balance their budgets despite making cutbacks.

A trend is emerging which is worrying Citizens Advice whereby people are finding they simply cannot balance their monthly budgets despite making severe cutbacks.

A trend is emerging which is worrying  agencies like Citizens Advice whereby people are finding they simply cannot balance their monthly budgets and are constantly getting into more debt. It's become known as 'negative budgets' and it's a trend that is rising fast. In 2019, just over a third of Citizens Advice debt clients were in a negative budget. Today it’s over half and the number is rising. Citizens Advice believe it is a generational problem that will define the priorities of any government for at least the next decade. 

We examine whether a government plan to extend child minding help for parents is causing more minders to quit. Working parents of three and four-year-olds are currently eligible for 30 hours of government-funded childcare during term time. From September, 15 hours of free childcare will be made available to children from nine months upwards. And by September 2025, this will be extended to 30 hours. The government says it's the biggest investment in childcare history. However, childcare providers are warning that the average rate paid per child for these free hours is not enough to cover the cost.

Average annual energy bills fell by 17%  last month - and fixed deals are returning. The question is - to fix or not to fix? We hear from a couple of experts as fixed deals return through a number of energy suppliers including British Gas, EDF, E.on, Octopus Energy and Ovo.

And we report from Wales on the problems of retaining rural GPs. If you live in the countryside, you probably rely on your GP more than those living in towns near walk in centres and other health clinics. But attracting enough doctors to run surgeries in rural areas is difficult.  The number of trainees is rising, thanks to an incentive scheme.  But some GPs say it needs to change to encourage them to stay longer.

PRESENTER: PETER WHITE
PRODUCER: CRAIG HENDERSON

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Negative budgets, Rural GPs, Childminder troubles

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