As we head towards this winter and people begin to prepare to celebrate Christmas festive period, lenders start to lend more than in other periods of time and customers borrow more; many no doubt will also suffer in silence due to the changes in winter fuel payment introduced by the current government. The subject for this month on the Debt Talk podcast is: 'Christmas festive worries'. To navigate the subject with Ripon Ray, there are two distinguished guests: Michael Agmoh-Davison, who is one of the organizers for the Unite the Trade Union, and Alison Berry, the debt coach lead for Christian Against Poverty.

Michael Agmoh-Davison explained the current state of poverty in his community in Northern England and as a trade union representative for Unite the Union. He also described why his union decided to challenge the current government's decision not to assess the impact the change would have on pensioners and communities with disabilities in court. He also shared the importance of campaign work, which is needed beyond judicial review to protect the interests of communities in financial hardship.

Alison Berry challenged the myth that most clients that Christian Against Poverty supports are about overspending but are actually about borrowing to mitigate their deficit budget, either keep their roof over their heads or keeping their home warm. This winter will be even more challenging for pensioners since it is the first winter, and many will need winter fuel payments.

My panel members also provided Debt Talk listeners with TOP TIPS to assist communities who may struggle this winter and need advice and support when budgets are challenging.

The next Debt Talk podcast is on ‘January Blues’. If you want to speak about a topic of your choice related to the theme of the podcast, you can get in touch with Ripon Ray here: ripon.ray@yourdoctordebt.com