Working on Benefits and Banking Hubs

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 26 October 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A new report given exclusively to Money Box is calling for more help for working families on Universal Credit. The University of Bath’s Institute for Policy Research wants the government to raise earning thresholds for extra help like free school meals, NHS prescriptions, council tax support and NHS dental help. The government says it's committed to supporting low-income families by extending the Household Support Fund by £421 million. It also told us its commitment to reviewing Universal Credit so people receive the support they need, saying it is taking "bold action" to help people into work so they can gain financial independence and break down the barriers to opportunity.

Banking Hubs should start offering more help for customers with advice on scams, getting online and creating Power of Attorneys according to the former chair of the watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority. Charles Randell, who’s now a member of the Financial Inclusion Committee, says banks need to invest more in the hubs as bank branch closures continue to hit communities with more than 6,000 having closed since 2015. UK Finance, which represents banks, says significant ongoing investment is being made to support customers with access to cash and day to day banking needs.

What changes could the Chancellor make to ISAs and Dividends in her October Budget?

And energy prices go up next week - what does it mean for you and how does it work?

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Catherine Lund Researchers: Emma Smith and Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 28th September 2024)

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.
0:06.5	I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:11.2	I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,
0:16.0	relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.
0:22.4	So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,
0:28.3	and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience, and maybe that's you.
0:33.6	So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.
0:39.4	BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.
0:43.1	Hello, welcome to this Moneybox podcast.
0:45.9	Can the growing network of banking hubs ever replace the 6,000 closed bank branches?
0:51.8	Will the Chancellor's choices on savings and dividend taxes be tough on people
0:56.4	who provided for their retirement? And gas and electricity are more expenses from Tuesday, should
1:02.2	you fix the cost now? But first, a widowed mother with two children who works in a residential
1:07.5	care home in West London has told this programme she's being punished
1:11.0	if she works longer hours. Aurora, that's not her real name, gets universal credit to top
1:16.5	up her low income. But she's told Moneybox, if she earns more than a certain amount, she
1:21.1	loses free school meals for her two boys and free prescriptions for herself. And if she earns
1:26.2	above another limit, her universal credit is also cut.
1:30.0	This can leave her worse off and, as she put it, trapped.
1:33.6	Aurora's a real-life example of the problems faced by working families on low incomes,
1:38.4	which are highlighted in a new report from the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath.
1:43.4	Moneybox is Dan Whitworth's here with the details, Dan.
	...

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