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Episode details

Radio 4,29 Apr 2020,37 mins

Free school meal vouchers; Pub rent; Music streaming

You and Yours

Available for over a year

Parents who are eligible for free school meal shopping vouchers say there have been big delays accessing the support. The website where the voucher codes must be redeemed has long queues to get in, leaving the countries poorest parents with no option but to go without. The vouchers are worth £15 per child per week, and can be spent at most of the major supermarkets. Edenred, the company running the scheme on behalf of the Department for Education, says in the 3 weeks it's been online, more than 15,500 schools have successfully redeemed more than 29 million pounds. Pub landlords who run "tied" pubs, owned by larger drink companies, are urging those companies to cancel their rents while the UK is under lockdown. Some companies have deferred rent payments, but landlords say they will be put out of business if it is not scrapped altogether. You & Yours speaks to the pub group, Greene King about why it says rent must be paid back. Sales of physical music - CDs and records - have dropped during lockdown, but the numbers for streaming are on the up. DJ Gemma Cairney joins us to tell us about some of the surprise hits. Presented by Shari Vahl Produced by Natalie Donovan

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