Podcasts

It's just over a month until the launch of the government's tax-free childcare scheme, which will give parents up to £2,000 towards the cost of their childcare. The scheme will go live on April 28th and will be available initially for parents with the youngest children. Meanwhile later this year, the amount of free childcare that parents will be able to get will increase to 30 hours a week in termtime compared to the current limit of 15 hours a week. So, how can you find the childcare that's right for you and your budget and how do you apply for the new tax-free childcare? This week Sarah Pennells is joined by Lynn James who's the founder of money blog Mrs Mummypenny and Chris Davis, head of the Customer engagement team at HM Revenue and Customs.

According to new data from the Cranfield School of Management and the British Standards Institution businesses are 'sleepwalking' into disaster as Brexit approaches. They also found less than one-third of CEOs were confident of leading their firms to long term success. The report argues companies aren't taking enough risks because of 'rigid' ways of thinking. To discuss the findings James Brydges spoke to Howard Kerr, CEO of the British Standards Institution.

New data suggests less than a third of us check terms and conditions before sharing personal data, which could leave us open to having personal information fall into the wrong hands, being shared amongst unknown groups. Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to Neil Aitken, Spokesman for Payments UK, to find out more.

According to research from Price Waterhouse Coopers up to 30% of existing UK jobs are susceptible to automation with transport, manufacturing or retail amongst the most at risk. Whilst this might boost overall productivity it does present problems for those in some of the industries at threat. To find out more about the future of the job market with automation Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC.

UK mums get one of the lowest amounts of decently-paid maternity leave in Europe According to research by the TUC, only Ireland and Slovakia have worse entitlements. To find out more Share Radio's Joe Aldridge spoke to Kathryn Mackridge, Equality Officer at the TUC.

Sarah Pennells was joined by David Braithwaite from Citrus Financial this morning. Today on the agenda, they discussed the news that BT's been hit with a record 42 million pound fine from the telecoms regulator for a serious breach of its rules. Plus they look into why men running the biggest public companies in the UK earn almost twice what their female counterparts are paid. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Sarah Pennells was joined by Share Radio's Political Correspondent, Colin Bloom to look at some of the biggest political stories of the day. Theresa May will meet Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland later. The pair will meet for the first time since the SNP announced their proposals for a second independence referendum. What can we expect from this meeting? Meanwhile, The Home Secretary wants messaging services to open up their platforms to intelligence agencies to combat terrorist attacks. It's understood Khalid Masood sent an encrypted message via Whatsapp minutes before carrying out his Westminster rampage.

Nigel Cassidy joined Sarah Pennells to discuss the main market headlines of the morning, starting with BT - they've received a rather hefty fine. We've also heard from SouthWest trains this morning, who've made a rather surprising announcement. And it's been a shaky start for the FTSE this morning. Earlier, Nigel was speaking with Rachel Winter - of Kilik and Co - and Paul Sedgwick . What did they put this down to?

Businesses are 'sleepwalking' into disaster as Brexit approaches. That's according to new data from the Cranfield School of Management and the British Standards Institution - that safeguards standards in business. They also found less than one-third of CEOs were confident of leading their firms to long term success. The report argues companies aren't taking enough risks because of 'rigid' ways of thinking. James Brydges spoke to Howard Kerr, CEO of the British Standards Institution.

Last Friday, Caspian Sunrise, formerly known as Roxi Petroleum, doubled their size by merging with Eragon Petroleum Ltd - hence the name change. By changing the company name, the company intends to 'send a clear signal of its intent to reintroduce itself as a larger and transformed entity poised to accelerate growth onto a new level'. Joining Nigel Cassidy is Clive Carver, Chairman of Caspian Sunrise to discuss the newly-named company's plans.