You and Yours - 07/01/2009

Presented by Winifred Robinson. Claims councils in England and Wales are taking people to court too quickly if they fall behind with their payments. We speak to Sir Jeremy Beecham, vice chair of the Local Government Association. As the number of repossessions rises, more pressure is placed on council staff tasked with deciding who should be re-housed. One former homelessness caseworker tells us about the difficulties involved. The poet Ian McMillan considers the fate of Morris Dancers as one group predicts their extinction within 20 years. How can car dealerships survive a recession? We speak to Paul Everitt from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders. What are the prospects of empty shops being brought back into use? Retail analyst Stephen Springham and Richard Jenkins from Experian discuss. The writer John Killick reads the third of five poems fashioned from conversations with people with dementia.