Help to Buy, Poor Mobile Signal, Beach Hut Sales

The Help to Buy scheme, which was introduced in England in 2013 by the Conservative government, was set up to help people without access to money via friends and family by loaning them some of the funds for a house deposit and increasing mortgage availability. Critics say it pushed up house prices by allowing people to spend more, but defenders say it helped many people buy homes and boosted house building. Help to Buy ended in 2020, but now the Home Builders Federation are calling on the government to bring it back. We'll find out why and look at whether it's the best thing for would be homeowners.

The UK has fallen behind countries including Romania, Poland and Portugal when it comes to mobile download speeds. That's according to analysis by a network intelligence company called Ookla. Mobile operators say planning restrictions are holding back improvements. They want greater flexibility to build taller masts to boost coverage and network performance. We'll hear your experiences and find out what changes are needed for a better service in the UK.

And with it being bank holiday Monday, what better time to talk about one of the great icons of the British seaside holiday: the beach hut. Not so long ago, huts in prime locations were fetching eye-watering prices, with some selling for hundreds of thousands of pounds. But according to a recent survey, the market appears to be cooling, and some are now being sold for significantly less than their owners paid.

PRESENTER: Winifred Robinson
PRODUCER: Linda Walker