According to UK government data for the year ending 2023, there were an estimated 2.4 million separated families and 3.8 million children living in those households. More than half of divorced families had formal child maintenance arrangements—a figure that highlights the growing intersection of family separation and financial strain.

This month’s Debt Talk with Ripon Ray dives deep into the theme: ‘Family Planning, Divorce & Debt’, bringing forward real-life stories that reveal how personal relationships, cultural expectations, and legal frameworks collide—often with emotional and financial consequences.

Bilckis Khanom, a British Bangladeshi woman, bravely shares her story of marrying outside her religious and cultural upbringing. Although she married under Islamic law, her separation left her feeling isolated—both emotionally and socially. She discusses the legal and personal challenges she faced, and the profound impact of being disconnected from her community during a vulnerable time.

Matt Peloquin, an American father previously married to a Chilean diplomat, speaks about his experience navigating the Chilean court system. He claims that custody decisions favoured Chilean nationals, leaving him at a disadvantage as a foreign father. His child maintenance payments were significantly higher than those expected from local citizens. Out of this experience, he founded Support Fathers' Rights, an organisation campaigning for equitable treatment of fathers across borders.

Ella Betts from Christians Against Poverty offers a powerful perspective on the financial control and abuse that can occur during separations—especially when joint bank accounts and shared debts are involved. She outlines practical tools such as account freezes and access to ‘breathing space,’ but stresses that solving debt is only part of the solution. Collaboration between organisations is essential to offer holistic support during such critical moments in people’s lives.

All our guests also share TOP TIPS for listeners—practical advice for anyone who may be facing similar circumstances, or supporting someone who is.

Next episode: ‘Crypto, Digital Assets & Gambling’ — exploring the risks, realities, and financial consequences of the digital money world.

Just over 13% of the UK population are self-employed. Is being self-employed the way forward or are we forced to take the path in some sectors? In this month’s Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray spoke with three guests from many different perspectives.

James Harris has been self-employed for nearly 25 years in the creative sector. He explained how funding in his sector has been reducing since the 1990s. There are also very few fashion shows compared to when he began his career. His biggest worry is personal finance since Universal Credit introduced the Minimum Income Floor leading to him getting into rent and other arrears.

Andy Chamberlain - Director of Policy from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-employed Limited - explained the direction of travel within the context of self-employment in the UK. He emphasised that more self-employed professionals are in the construction and literary creative industries. People in their 40s are more likely to be self-employed in these sectors instead of newly joined workers. He explained that employers should not deliberately choose to hire self-employed just to avoid giving workers their legal rights.

Sam Nurse - CEO of Money Advice Hub - emphasised that being self-employed can be a challenge due to many factors which may include lack of bookkeeping experience or not filing financial reports on time to relevant authorities. She recognised that Universal Credit’s Minimum Income Floor ended up discriminating against self-employed, unlike employees who claim welfare support.

The panelists also gave Debt Talk Listeners top tips. The next podcast is on ‘Foodbanks and the Welfare support.’

Imprisonment is an option for many councils in England to enforce council tax debt as a last resort if residents are wilfully refusing or are culpably neglectful to pay. On this month's Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored the ‘Prison & Council Tax’.

He invited Chris Daw KC and Russell Hamblin-Boone to join him to find out whether it is fair and cost-effective to imprison communities for non-payment of council tax.

Chris Daw KC, a criminal law expert, explained the history of debtors' prisons in the UK and how the measures were used against impoverished communities. He emphasised how Margaret Thatcher’s government introduced imprisonment as an option based on politically driven ideology and how this policy could be changed just by removing imprisonment from the legislation. He highlighted how costly it is to put someone in prison.

Russell Hamblin-Boone outlined the changes in the enforcement industry and how it has adapted to meet the council's needs and identify financial and other vulnerabilities. He emphasised the importance of partnering with private enforcement agent companies to recover council tax as an alternative to putting someone in prison as opposed to central government debts.

My panellists have also provided top tips to Debt Talk listeners in order to move forward both on a national issue and on the issue of private enforcement agents.

The Debt Talk podcast is on the: ‘Insecurities of being Self-Employed’.