Up to 17m families would be forced to pay the tax - whether or not their loved one had required any care.

A 10% tax raid would leave the relatives of middle income earners with estates worth £500,000 with a £50,000 bill when their relatives die. This would be on top of an inheritance tax bill of £70,000.

Critics condemned the plans, saying they would penalise those who had saved all their lives. The Tories warned the true tax bill could be even higher, because a 10% levy would raise £4.5bn, only a third of what is needed to pay for caring for the elderly.

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Today, on behalf of millions of frustrated readers, Money Mail asks the telecoms giants... Is Anyone Listening?

Thousands of you contact us each year at your wits' end because our biggest companies make it so difficult to resolve even the smallest niggles.

You complain of ludicrously complex electronic switchboards, countless hours stuck on hold, phone calls not being returned and call centre staff who cannot even speak our language.

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Lynne Jones at the charity National Debtline replies: Marriage in itself does not create liability for a debt.

What is relevant is whose name is on the agreement, as this is the person who will be legally liable for the debt. Therefore, a husband is not responsible for his wife's debts, or vice versa, if his name is not on the original credit agreement.

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The chap's accent was hard to understand at first, and he had just as much difficulty comprehending mine. But I wasn't going to let him go. Not after so long.

It had taken more than 40 minutes to get to this stage, and he was the first human being I had managed to contact, unless there was actually a bloke playing ghastly music down the phone each time I was 'transferred'.

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This week sees the launch of Barclays Golden Isa Issue 2, which is paying 3.1%, including a 1-percentage-point bonus payable for the first 12 months. It also gives you easy access to your money.

A deal from Santander offers a better rate on this year's Isa allowance. It pays 3.5% and guarantees to pay 3 percentage points over base rate for a year. Neither account allows transfers of existing cash isa money.

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Simon Moon from This is Money replies: Savers who wish to avoid tax by putting savings into a cash or stock-and-shares Isa do not have to be British citizens.

One of the chief requirements is that you are 'resident and ordinarily resident in the UK for tax purposes'.

This confusing piece of HM Revenue & Customs jargon means you are living here at the moment and this is where you normally live.

It is possible for a person to be 'resident but not ordinarily resident'. This applies where an individual is living in the UK for a particular tax year, but normally lives somewhere else.

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Another measure being considered is the use of Dog Control Notices for misbehaving animals - known as 'Dogbos'.

They would allow police officers and council officials to force miscreant owners to muzzle, leash or even neuter their pets. In extreme cases the dogs could be confiscated and given to new owners.

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The information so far is largely anecdotal. Two months on, it's too early to see hard data.

However, the car sales magazine and website, Exchange & Mart, has today published some interesting insights on the Prius.

Exchangeandmart.co.uk saw buyer searches and values for the Prius plummet when the story hit the headlines, but it added: 'Activity is beginning to rise again, making this a good time to bag a possible bargain.'

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The taxpayer owns 41% of Lloyds Banking Group after pumping in £23bn, and 84% of RBS after putting in £45.5bn.

The number of disputes where the ombudsman is being asked to step in spiralled in the latter part of last year. It received more than 17,000 complaints about Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland, which includes Halifax, some 4,500 more than in the first six months of 2009.

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About 400,000 savers had deposits with online savings bank Icesave and were compensated by the two governments.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said yesterday it would take many, many years for Britain to be reimbursed and signalled there would be some flexibility in how the debt was repaid.

Mr Darling said: 'You couldn't just go to a small country like Iceland with a population, I think, about the size of Wolverhampton and say... repay all that money immediately.'

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