This email was sent to Money Box subscribers on 14 May 2010

 

Dear Listener

 

Everyone is very focussed on the roughly £1 trillion of debt which the Government has built up, after years of spending more each year than it receives in income from taxes. The LibCon Coalition Government calls it “the most urgent issue facing Britain” (by which I presume it means the United Kingdom.)

 

But, big as it is, the amount the Government has borrowed is a lot less than the debt we have all incurred as individuals. Latest figures from the Bank of England show that is a shade under £1.5 trillion – or £1,460,300,000,000. Now most of that is mortgage debt secured on an asset which (we hope) will not fall in value. But a big chunk – about £221 billion – is consumer credit for clothes, holidays, TVs, cars or even groceries.

 

But there is not a word about consumer credit in the Coalition Agreement. How are we to reduce this second debt mountain? And how are we going to help those whose own personal debt is more than they can afford? We’ll know more about the Coalition’s plans on 25 May when, we are told, a longer and more detailed version of the agreement will be published and the Queen will set out her new Government’s priorities.

 

Meanwhile on Money Box this Saturday we will be talking about some of the surprising things we already know.

 

***You will not find any mention in Conservative or Liberal Democrat manifestos of a rise in the rate of Capital Gains Tax. But it is going up fro 18% to, possibly, 50% for some high earners. Who will pay it? And should we care? And what about pensions, benefits, income tax, VAT, flying tax (flying tax?)?

 

***When does a bank account you don’t use much become officially dormant? After a year according to Santander. But are its new dormancy terms and conditions allowed within the rules? And is that really treating customers fairly?

 

***Still with banks (when do we ever leave them?) shock new figures show that the interest charged on arranged overdrafts is as high as it was 10 years ago at 14.22%. Then the Bank Rate was 6%, now it's 0.5%. So why are overdrafts so dear?

 

***And I visit our biggest fan who spent more than £7,000 listening to Radio 4 when volcanic ash stranded him in Italy. He says that’s unfair. His mobile phone company says it was trying to be helpful, in letting him continue to rack up the bill. Should mobile operators waive high charges when travellers are stuck abroad?

 

All that and more – or maybe less – on Money Box at noon on Saturday, 9pm on Sunday, or any time on the website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox. There, you can also watch videos, follow up items, read web pieces, download transcripts, follow links, and send us stories or ideas you want us to look into. And Have Your Say on the Coalition plans for our money. 

 

Best wishes,

Paul

 

PS. Don’t forget the programme preview on Breakfast BBC 1 soon after 0845 on Saturday.

 


Writing Archive


Paul Lewis front page

e-mail Paul Lewis


All material on these pages is © Paul Lewis 2010