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Rachel Reeves is back to where she started after the Spring Statement, with her £9.9billion of budget headroom restored but at what cost? The Chancellor was true to her word and didn't turn last week's economic update into a second Budget, with no tax changes coming in. But a wave of spending cuts was announced, along with growth forecasts going both down and up. We also got the Office for Budget Responsibility's update on what Reeves' Autumn Budget tax rises will cost us, a threat to Cash ISAs and no reprieve for home buyers on stamp duty. In this episode, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert dive into the Spring Statement to explain why it happened, what it means, and tackle the question of whether taxes are going to have to rise again in autumn. They look at the very important assumption being made by the OBR, which if it turns out to be wrong could mean there is a £48billion black hole in the sums. And is the entire thing a charade anyway and damaging to our future prospects? Simon explains why he thinks so. Finally, campaigners like Gary Stevenson claim that this could all be solved with a wealth tax — is that where we will eventually end up?

New research released reveals how the vast majority of people in Britain are concerned that 2030 is too soon to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. However, there is a general consensus that we need a viable solution to greenhouse gas emissions right now. Joining Adam Cox to discuss this is Dickon Posnett – the President of the European Biodiesel Board and Director of Corporate Affairs at Argent Energy.

New research from children's audio platform, Yoto, reveals widespread concern around the amount of time children are spending on screens — as well as the content they can access easily online. Joining Adam Cox now to discuss this is former children’s publisher and Yoto Content Director, Jessica Tarrant.

Obesity costs the UK £100 billion a year, yet stigma still clouds the conversation. Science shows it’s more than willpower—genetics which drive up to 80% of weight gain, and new treatments are changing the game. With weight loss medications proving effective and the government backing their use, is it time to rethink our approach? More than one in ten women in the UK already use GLP-1s for weight management, but 31% hesitate due to stigma — highlighting the urgent need to shift public perception. Joining Adam Cox today is pharmacist Kevin Joshua from Juniper Technologies UK Ltd, who will discuss the future of obesity treatment and its impact on public health.

Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her Spring Statement next week, and it's probably safe to say this isn't the position she wanted to be in. After an Autumn Budget that raised spending and hiked taxes while locking the Chancellor in with a new fiscal rule, Reeves would have hoped to arrive in March with better news on the economy. Instead, Labour's not-a-tax-on-working-people national insurance hike on employers has backfired, at the same time as the growth forecasts have taken a downturn and borrowing costs have risen. So, what will the Chancellor do next week? Will she tweak her own fiscal rule, raise taxes again or cut spending in unprotected areas that are already suffering? As Rachel Reeves finds herself between a rock and a hard place, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert look at what could happen. Plus, what does the Bank of England holding rates and the potential future path mean for your savings and mortgage? What should you do to sort your ISA and pension now? Can you really give away £1 million a year and dodge inheritance tax? And finally, the question that anyone like Simon who racks up the odd foreign traffic infraction needs answered: if you get a holiday parking fine, do you have to pay it?

Abolition of NHS England reverses the de-politicisation of the health service, but it leaves intact all the inefficiencies of being a monopoly: thereby rendering people complacent and satisfied with mediocrity, unless they're moved by the Florence Nightingale mindset. Competition enables progress, efficient delivery and innovation, but most of all it respects individuals as customers, not simply treating them as account numbers. No wonder that the Competition & Markets Authority encourages government to use competition effectively on behalf of consumers. Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero

Investors this week have been hit by the 'Trump Slump.' Why is the US President rattling markets, and is it the end of the US bull market? Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Lee Boyce discuss what you should be doing to make your investments great again. How will the UK handle potential tariffs, should investors be in panic mode and what do experts say you should be doing to navigate the geopolitical turmoil? Pension freedom rules came into play ten years ago — these allowed retirees to take control of their pension savings, shifting away from the obligation to buy an annuity and moving towards flexible drawdown and investment options. So a decade on, how have the class of 2015 fared? Nationwide is handing out more money — £600 million of it — to 12 million eligible members as a 'big thank you' following its acquisition of Virgin Money last year. That’s £50 each. And it’s separate to its Fairer Share Scheme, which will be announced in May. And lastly, what can you do if a neighbour cuts back hedges and trees which have given you privacy for decades?

People with gaps in their state pension records have just one more month to take advantage of a special offer to buy missing years going as far back as 2006. As long as you get your payment or a callback request in by 5 April you can still benefit from the deal, but after that you will only be able to fill gaps from the past six years. And many are facing a backlog with payments in limbo — so what's going on? Pension gurus Sir Steve Webb and Tanya Jefferies join Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost to talk all things retirement. How can people save sufficiently to provide an income in retirement which they cannot even earn in salary? Steve replies to this tricky question. The state pension is going up in a month, with the headline rate at 4.1% thanks to the triple lock. But Tanya reveals that elements of it are only going up 1.7% ... and does Sir Steve think the triple lock will survive? We're on the precipice of Billmageddon with council tax, water bills, train fares, car tax, telecoms and even stamp duty rising — can you dodge the worst of the rises? And Lee has five top tips for bidding at online auctions to pick up genuine bargains … but just remember the fees, no tweed required.

Adam Cox is joined by Dr Steve James, a longevity medicine specialist and Cecilie Wang, the co-founder of Scandinavian Saunas. New research has found that many of us feel our health is in decline, with no idea how to stop it. And now experts are suggesting the problem is that we take a reactive approach to health, rather than proactive. https://www.scandinaviansauna.dk/

Technically, £100k annual earnings would meet the 'rich' definition, but many would say 'no'. Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost discuss with a psychologist how to address this vexed question. Also, following the new energy tariff changes, should you fix or not fix? And finally, Carol Knight explains why reducing the tax benefits on Cash ISAs will not make more people buy shares.