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Retail suppliers, Consumer complaining, Food atrocities, nPower, Port Isaac

Is our demand for cheap food in supermarkets damaging farmers? Plus consumer complaining, food atrocities, Perceptive Radio, nPower and Doc Martin in Port Isaac.

Is our demand for cheap food in supermarkets damaging farmers, small businesses and the people that work for them? The competition commission recognised there were problems in the supply chain and appointed a Grocery Code Adjudicator, who can fine supermarkets if they don't treat their suppliers fairly. The problem is, the adjudicator can only look at the direct suppliers - the people further down the chain have very little protection.

Would you eat a lasagne pizza? Are foods like this a crime? Nisha Katona is a purist when it comes to her food - no Chicken Tikka flavoured Blackpool rock for her. But food historian Dr Annie Gray, who has on occasion enjoyed a creme egg and spam toastie, says it's just snobbery and should eat whatever combinations we like.

Port Isaac is a fishing village on the North Cornish coast. It was quaint and best-known for being near Rock and Padstow. Until ten years ago when Martin Clunes turned up - called it Port Wenn and started filming the ITV series Doc Martin. Now coachloads of tourists turn up - and the village economy has changed. But what do the locals make of the turnaround. Our reporter Melanie Abbott has been finding out.

The government wants more housing benefit claimants to live in private rented accommodation. It was supposed to be a way of dealing with the declining social housing stock in the UK, and a way of strengthening links between local authorities and private landlords. But, according to a report released today by the Chartered Institute of Housing, private landlords are becoming more reluctant to let to claimants. Earlier this year the National Landlords Association called on homelessness charities to do more to help vulnerable tenants.

No doubt plenty of you spend a fair bit of time shouting at the radio. But does it listen?
Well 大象传媒 Research and Development - that's the boffins to you and me - are working on broadcasts which change their scripts based on the location of the listener. It doesn't matter where you live, your own local landmarks - even the weather near you - will appear in the story. It's called Perceptive Radio and you can find out more by logging on to Futurebroadcasts.com

Figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service show which financial institutions and products are attracting the most complaints. And big, it seems is not beautiful. Over the last six-months Lloyds Banking Group received around 58,000 complaints, while - for example, Sainsbury's Bank received 45 complaints in the same period. So have the smaller institutions just had a good six months or are they better at dealing with customers fairly.

Available now

45 minutes

Chapters

  • Retail Suppliers

    Is the demand for cheap food damaging farmers and small businesses?

    Duration: 07:12

  • Food Crimes

    Is eating peas with honey a food crime? What about a lasagne sandwich?

    Duration: 05:26

  • Housing Homeless

    Is the conflict between welfare and housing policy causing increasing homelessness?

    Duration: 04:22

  • Village Film Set

    Port Isaac was best-known for being near Padstow. Now it鈥檚 known as Doc Martin's home.

    Duration: 08:45

  • Mr Small and nPower

    After two yrs trying to convince nPower he's not a customers, Mr Small takes action.

    Duration: 04:22

  • Perceptive Radio

    Do you ever shout at the radio. Does it listen? Perceptive Radio does.

    Duration: 03:54

  • Complaining

    The big banks are still not giving good enough customer service as complaints soar

    Duration: 03:18

Broadcast

  • Thu 11 Sep 2014 12:15

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