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With the Government's spending review published this autumn likely to underscore an age of austerity in the UK, Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan travels the country in the HD SkyCopter to discover how Britain is faring as Cameron’s coalition government tackles the country’s debt mountain.

In an action-packed day, Dermot will be reporting live from Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool and Exeter to investigate how the Government’s austerity measures have affected the regions, and whether future cuts in public spending will lead to hard times for families, workers and businesses.

Dermot will conduct live interviews on location throughout the day with key regional figures including a representative from banking group RBS, a regional head of General Union GMB, Liverpool council leader Joe Anderson, the Chair of the South West Regional Development Agency and many others. Those most affected will talk to Dermot on air, and there will be stories and comment from people across each region who are already bearing the brunt of the cuts.

Also as part of Sky News: Hard Times, Jeff Randall travels to South Wales to investigate why many people in Merthyr Tydfil have lost the will to work. With a third of the working population on some form of unemployment handout, and more than 20% of children living in homes where no one works, the Government's proposed welfare reforms are going to hit the town hard.

In a half-hour documentary, Jeff discovers a dependency culture created by benefits, made worse by widespread drug abuse. He reveals research by Cardiff University, which suggests a claimant who has been on incapacity benefits for more than a year is more likely to die than get a job, and he talks to some of the teenagers of Merthyr, who have already written off their futures.

A Town Like Merthyr Tuesday 7 September 19.30

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