Energy cap, Debt advice, Pet costs

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The Government is providing the detail today about how it plans to cap energy prices. But what will it mean for your bills? The cap will affect 18 million households on standard variable tariffs - they're the expensive default tariffs people pay if they've never switched. We hear from the comparison website, the Big Deal, about whether this will bring an end to some of the cheapest deals currently on the market. We also consider if the cap will mean there'll be less of an incentive to switch suppliers. The squeeze on incomes has been going on for a long time and people are borrowing more. Stepchange, one of the UK's leading debt advice charities says 326,000 people have contacted their helpline this year. That's 16 per cent more than in the same period of 2015. We hear how their counsellors are helping people who call up about problem debt. Almost half of all households in the UK have a pet. It costs a lot in time and money to keep one and look after it properly. Some scientific theories have explained pets as domestic parasites, creatures that prey on our need to love and nurture. But a new book, "The Animals Among Us: The New Science of Anthrozoology", turns that theory on its head. Its author John Bradshaw, from the University of Bristol tells us that far from exploiting us, pets have taught humans useful skills that have helped us survive. Presenter: Winifred Robinson Producer: Tara Holmes.