Standing Charges, Dating, New Builds

Available for over a year

The government has announced plans to remove the gas standing charge. It's a fee that every household pays regardless of how much gas they use, with the average daily standing charge 54.8p for electricity and 29.7p for gas. The current system means that people trying to save money and restrict their energy usage are paying a disproportionate amount of money. We'll find out how this is expected to change our bills. Around 80% of the seafood we eat is now the so-called big five: Cod, Haddock, Prawns, Salmon and Tuna. But our tastes weren't always this narrow. According to a new study by the University of Exeter, prior to 1970, flatfish, herring and wild varieties of oysters were just as common on our plates as any of the big five. So, what's behind the change, and how much is it down to cost? Dating in Britain is changing. Around 4.9 million UK adults still use dating apps, but the time spent on them has fallen sharply in recent years, with Tinder alone losing around 600,000 UK users in a year. In contrast, singles events, hobby groups and run clubs are growing in popularity. Recently the government announced a new Help To Buy scheme for new build homes. It's called the 'Your First Home' scheme and it allows first time buyers to buy a new home with a 2.5% deposit as the government will contribute a 20% loan. It is expected to boost sales of new build homes, but a number of housebuilders have faced criticism for the quality and construction of these homes. Figures from the New Homes Ombudsman Service show that complaints about new builds rose more than 200% last year. We hear from Cody Lambert-Hope, a listener who wrote to us about the issues he faced in his new build, and the Home Builders Federation. ** UPDATE ** Since this programme was broadcast, we've had an updated statement from Persimmon Homes. Their spokesperson told us: “As an HBF five-star builder, we take the quality of our homes and customer service extremely seriously. We are sorry for the level of service Mr Lambert-Hope has received, and his case has been escalated to a senior member of our Customer Care team. Some of the concerns raised during the programme had not previously been brought to our attention, and most of the matters reported to us have now been addressed, with the remainder being scheduled.” PRESENTER: Shari Vahl PRODUCER: Lydia Thomas