Partners will be able to dissolve the agreement in the form of a divorce
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BBC Radio 4's Money Box was broadcast on Saturday, 29 October, 2005, at 1204 BST.
The programme was repeated on Sunday, 30 October, 2005, at 2102 GMT.
Same sex couples will be able to form a civil partnership and gain most of the rights and responsibilities of marriage in just over five weeks time.
The new laws begin on 5 December, 2005, but it will be a couple of weeks after that before the first ceremonies can take place.
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YOUR SAY
Do the new laws go far enough, and should this be extended to other people who live together?
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Money Box examined the financial advantages and disadvantages for couples considering registering their relationship.
We were joined by Carmel Walker, Welfare Rights Advisor at Enfield Adult Social Services.
And we spoke to Louis Letourneau, an independent financial adviser specialising in gay finance.
Further information:
Tax credits
Concerns have grown some families have been pushed into poverty
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The recovery of tax credit overpayments in all disputed cases will be suspended from the middle of November, according to Treasury Minister Dawn Primarolo.
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) welcomed the news but reiterated its concerns about overpayment recovery, and said it would be watching closely to see if the Revenue can deliver on its promises.
Ms Primarolo was speaking to the Treasury Sub Committee which has now announced an inquiry into HM Revenue and Customs' handling of the payment of child and working tax credits.
To discuss the latest developments we spoke to Treasury Minister Dawn Primarolo, and also to Kate Green, Director of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG).
Further information:
Commonhold
Under commonhold possession is not restricted to a set period of time
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Over two million homes in England and Wales are leasehold properties and it is one year since the law was changed to give people who live in them stronger ownership rights.
"Tenure of commonhold" was designed to allow leaseholders to buy their home outright, freeing themselves from the restraints of the lease.
But Money Box has learnt that one year on, less than 165 dwellings have been registered as commonhold in England, far short of government estimates.
Louise Greenwood investigated why take-up of commonhold has been so poor.
Further information:
Home credit
The commission said people were generally happy with home credit
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Various factors indicate there may be a lack of effective competition in the home credit market and despite customer satisfaction, borrowers are paying a high price for loans, the Competition Commission has said.
Home credit is the supply of small loans, often to people on low-incomes who may have difficulty getting credit elsewhere. Repayments are collected from the customer's home on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
The National Consumer Council said it hoped the commission's emerging thinking would lead to action and a fairer deal for Britain's two million poorest people.
We spoke to Acting Chairman of the Competition Commission Peter Freeman about the findings.
Further information:
Splits compensation
When markets fell sharply in 2000 many investors lost money
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Compensation offers to eligible split-cap investors will be made at the beginning of December, the company set up to administer the fund has announced.
Fund Distribution Limited (FDL) said individual offers will be held open for five weeks to allow applicants sufficient time to accept or reject.
Should they accept, they will receive a payment within four weeks of returning the required documentation.
Louise Greenwood reported.
Further information:
Producer: Jessica Laugharne
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Louise Greenwood
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