a new hate crime law comes into force in scotland, but is it protecting minorities or blocking free speech? and a lower energy price cap comes into force — taking bills in england, wales and scotland to their lowest level in two years. this is the time of year that the cost of living takes a hike as providers of many services raise their prices. the average annual water and sewerage bill will rise by 6% in england and wales, up £27 to £473. council tax rises vary, most will go up 3 or 5%. exceptions are financially troubled birmingham where council tax will go up 21% over two years and scotland where its mainly frozen. most broadband and mobile phone providers are currently introducing mid—contract price rises of up to 8.8%.

the good news — falling energy prices. the annual energy bill for a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity will fall to £1,690, which is the lowest for two years. let's get more on this from our money and work reporter, peter ruddick. there is a mixed picture there, but a lot of bills going up? yes. there is a mixed picture there, but a lot of bills going up?— a lot of bills going up? yes. you alwa s a lot of bills going up? yes. you always get _ a lot of bills going up? yes. you always get winners _ a lot of bills going up? yes. you always get winners and - a lot of bills going up? yes. you always get winners and losers i a lot of bills going up? yes. you i always get winners and losers at this time of year, the start of the new financial year and we work out what is coming in and what is going out and how those things have changed. i think there will be some crucial things going up that will off set the headlines. the government are keen to talk of the combined impact of lower energy bills, the national insurance cut, an extension to free child care and an extension to free child care and a higher minimum wage. but there are

some caveats. you take the national living wage that is going up by more than a pound in an hour and all workers over 21 will get it for the first time and we are due to get another cut in national insurance. but it won't offset the higher tax that we are paying because of frozen thresholds. many child care providers say they can't offer the new free hours, because of issues with staffing and their own costs. then of course energy bills. it has been a massive headache for people for the last couple of years. maybe the biggest headache when it comes to their bills and today's cut in the cap will be important, but when you take into account that water bills are going up for many and then of course energy bills. it has been a massive headache for people for the last couple of years. maybe the

biggest headache when it comes to their bills and today's cut in the cap will be important, but when you take into account that water bills are going up for many and council tax and phone and broad band. it won't come too welcome. when you take all the bills and look at them in the round, perhaps you're not going to get as much as a benefit from that energy price cap being lowered. that is before we talk about rent and mortgage costs. winners and losers. it is a time when people work out how things are going to change in the new financial year. the reality is for the government, the political hope is people will feel better off and they may not feel better off for a while. we are going to come on to energy bills in a moment, but what help is there from the government? the government _ there from the government? the government say _ there from the government? tie: government say that there from the government? tue: government say that you there from the government? tt9 government say that you know they are sort of supporting people now through work and essentially the changes to national insurance and the higher minimum wage that will benefit people in work, but when it comes to energy bills, some of the support that has been there will start to go. because essentially

they say things are going back to a more normal position. there is a lot of information on this on the week web—site on the tackle it together section. if you're confused, it is worth doing the calculations and heading to the web—site, because there is support available if not necessarily through the government schemes that we have been using in the last couple of years.— and let's just focus a little more on the energy prices as part of those changing costs. in england, wales and scotland, they have today fallen to their lowest level for two years, as the new quarterly price cap comes into force. a household using a typical amount of energy will see their bills fall by £238 compared with the previous cap. but standing charges — a fixed daily charge covering the costs of connecting to a supply — have risen. charities say customers still owe billions of pounds to suppliers.

let's speak to adam scorer, chief executive of national energy action. it is important to make clear that actually for a lot of customers, bills will be higher still than before the energy price crisis began and of course as peter was saying, some of the government support has been taken away?— been taken away? that's right. the ener: been taken away? that's right. the energy price _ been taken away? that's right. the energy price cap — been taken away? that's right. the energy price cap coming _ been taken away? that's right. the energy price cap coming down - been taken away? that's right. the energy price cap coming down is i been taken away? that's right. the i energy price cap coming down is good news, it means prices are lower. but many people, it is not their bills are higher, but the amount they pay back to their companies will be higher. we had three year of high energy prices is a three billion household energy debt mountain and people are having to pay that back. there may be an average of £1,200 of debt. you talked of the issues that

cause inflation, negative budgets, even with support, they still don't have enough money to pay for the essentials. that, plus the energy debt mountain, means people arejust in the same position they were at the height of the energy crisis. tt the height of the energy crisis. it is the low income households are disproportionately affected, what advice is there for them?- disproportionately affected, what advice is there for them? look, if ou're in advice is there for them? look, if you're in the _ advice is there for them? look, if you're in the situation _ advice is there for them? look, if you're in the situation where - advice is there for them? look, if i you're in the situation where you're in debt to your energy supplier, the most important thing is to talk to your energy supplier and get a debt repayment plan that fits what you're able to pay and they're aware of your situation. able to pay and they're aware of yoursituation. be able to pay and they're aware of your situation. be honest, this is two or three years where the hints and tips and the ways of trying to cope, disappear. for many people, there aren't really access to those handy hints about how to make your budget spread, what you still need,

absent of government support for energy costs, is targeted interventions to support people swamped by debt, unable to afort the essentials of life and are left having to cut off, not cutback, the amount of energy they use. what having to cut off, not cutback, the amount of energy they use. what can be done in those _ amount of energy they use. what can be done in those situations? - amount of energy they use. what can be done in those situations? there i be done in those situations? there are some people who have nowhere left to cut in terms of making savings and being cut off is the last resort. what is there for people in that situation? what we are callin: people in that situation? what we are calling for _ people in that situation? what we are calling for is, _ people in that situation? what we are calling for is, we _ people in that situation? what we are calling for is, we need - people in that situation? what we are calling for is, we need to - people in that situation? what we are calling for is, we need to helpi are calling for is, we need to help people get out of debt faster. there needs to be a help to repay scheme, for every pound the customer pays back, the energy company a the government match it. we need the framework for the energy market reset. so those who are most unhave vulnerable get the range of prices. we talked about things at the height

of crisis, now it is not so much of a priority. we have to learn the lesson of the energy crisis, because the cost—of—living crisis may be reseeding for some, but it is the every day reality for many people and it take intervention from government and markets to bring them support. government and markets to bring them su ort. :. ~' ,, ., government and markets to bring them su ort. :. ~ ,, :, i. government and markets to bring them su--ort. ., ,, ., ., support. thank you for your time and anal sis. there is more advice and support on the bbc news web—site. ten people — including two 88—year—old pensioners — have been given six weeks to move out of their homes, after being served no fault eviction notices by their social housing landlord. nearly every tenant on lake house close in weaverham in cheshire, has received a letter from cedar care, after it said they didn't meet the criteria to live there. those affected say they're devastated and have nowhere else to go. abbie jones has more.

we're both in the same boat, aren't we? we're both going to be evicted and homeless at the same time. 0h, we're not. doreen says she can't stop crying ever since she opened a letter out of the blue saying she has just six weeks to leave her home of ten years. it's the worst feeling i have ever had in my life. ijust feel sick, ijust can't... i don't think i'd have the energy to move. god knows how much time i've got left. but i would like to spend it here. it's horrible to see your mum like that, to think that people are making your mum of 88 homeless. doreen's daughter alison lives next door on lake house close, and she, too, has had an eviction notice telling her to leave by may 12th. i'm really worried about my mum and then i stop and think, me and all, you know, it's notjust my mum, it's me as well. there's nowhere that is like this, next to each other and right next

to the doctors, the shops. ijust don't understand why. you know, are we not vulnerable? are we not... you know, my mum at her age? jonathan's dad is also 88. he doesn't know he's being evicted. jonathan intercepted the letter, afraid of what it would do to his father. he has heart disease, - stage four kidney disease, a number of other ailments. and if he had read that letter, - i mean, the shock in the worst case scenario could have killed him. i i can't believe that a company cani just serve that letter on somebody. you know, it's immoral, it's unethical. _ around the corner, glen has been told he hasjust four weeks to get out. 30th of april. not having a place to live, it alters everything. your health, your prospects. glen's home is also full of black mould, and he has no hot water. so you're living in a mouldy home that you've complained about, and now they're evicting you from that mouldy home. nice, isn't it? yeah, that's right.

the government had pledged to abolish no—fault evictions like this, but a ban would require a court hearing for each case, and the courts have huge backlogs. housing minister michael gove originally said the courts must be reformed first, but told the bbc in february a ban would be in place by the general election. but the residents' mp — who's also the shadow homelessness minister — says that's not soon enough. section 21 no—fault evictions are driving homelessness. it's up, rough sleeping is up 37%, homelessness overall is up. and here we are in my own constituency, almost on an industrial scale. unfortunately, legally, they can do this at the moment. cedar care told us the properties are not full life homes and are for vulnerable people identified by the council as needing extra support. it says the tenants don't fall into those categories and should never have been living there. it says it will refurbish homes like glen's that weren't maintained by the previous landlord.

and if the council says residents do require support, they can move back in. cheshire west and chester council says it hasn't been contacted by cedar care, and is looking into the situation. meanwhile, doreen and the other residents say they have no idea what to do. i do wish they'd think again and help us. it's not... i've never missed a rent or anything. you just don't know what you've done wrong. abbiejones, bbc news, weavering. a charity that supports people affected by mental illness has said that anti—depressants should not be handed out to children simply because there s nothing else to offer . the warning from sane follows the release of government data that showed that nearly 450,000 anti—depressant prescriptions are issued to children in england each year. guidelines from nice state that they should only be given in the most severe cases. thousands of people have walked

through haiti's streets to celebrate easter. it's the first major national holiday since the country s government collapsed. the caribbean island is now largely gripped by gang violence. more than 1,500 people have been killed since the start of the year and tens of thousands left homeless. the un has described the situation as cataclysmic. 0ur correspondent nomia iqbal reports from cap haitian. as haiti spirals into violence, people try to hold on to their traditions. thousands of worshippers walk through narrow, dusty roads in cap haitian, praying for peace in a country whose capital has descended into lawlessness. in gang—controlled port—au—prince, the city is still suffering — with people fighting for basic supplies. most easter processions were cancelled. there was a rare moment ofjoy, though, as children crafted colourful kites —

an easter tradition. more than 100 miles away, nun checks in with herfamily every day to make sure they're still alive. her father says there was a shooting today — everyone is ok. he tells her he feels broken, though. nun left port—au—prince because of the violence. her cousin was killed by a gang in the capital last year. i have friends that, after school, they decided to open a business or things like that, and after some time either they got killed or they got robbed, so it's two ways — either you stay and you fight, or you go. even though i go, i'll come back because i have a plan, i have a dream, and that dream is happening in haiti. the country is now waiting to see exactly who will take on the gangs in the fight for power. a presidential transitional council is in the works, and the group's main goal will be to restore order and democracy to a nation that's at a crucial

turning point in history. one of the country's most powerful gang leaders, jimmy cherizier, has said he's open to a ceasefire. known as barbecue, he and his coalition control much of the capital right now, but he wants a seat at the negotiating table. it will be hard, though, to convince many haitians to accept violent gangsters as future political leaders. translation: when gangs attack, they're terrorising people, and they don't have any compassion — theyjust kill. the population is dying — it's true — because it's the country which is dying. when the port is dysfunctional, the airport is dysfunctional, and the hospital is dysfunctional, people will definitely die. haiti is a country with a lot of faith, but constant, overlapping crises have pushed it to the brink. and with little change so far, right now hope is all people have. nomia iqbal, bbc news, haiti.

hand—made silhouettes of almost 1,500 servicemen are being made in 0xfordshire and will go on display in normandy this month to mark the 80th anniversary of d—day. the standing with giants installation is made from recycled signs and took artist dan barton four years to plan. breakfast'sjohn maguire has been to the studio with veteran stan ford to see the finishing touches added to the project. not all giants loom large. yes, i remember him. yes. i was only 18 when i when ijoined. i'm proud to have done my bit. proud. very proud to have done my bit. yeah. and my eight brothers, they all done their bit. stan ford is among kindred spirits — among those who served, as he did, on d—day — and among symbols of those who never returned home. it's an honour to be

in the presence of this. it does give you some idea — a great idea of the. ..of what the cost, and the people involved. he's here to see the making of standing with giants — an installation representing, in silhouette, the almost 1,500 men of the army, navy and air force under british command who died on that first day, june the 6th. like sentinels, they will stand at the british normandy memorial above ver—sur—mer in northern france — codenamed gold beach during the allied invasion. they've been created by dan barton — a labour of love, commitment and dedication, four years in the making. the multiples of the same figure — it just seems to just really drive the point home, just how many people suffered for our freedom. part of dan's vision was to involve as many volunteers as possible — more than a thousand have helped to create the figures

from recycled signs. he's borrowed thousands of pounds against his 0xfordshire home to self—fund the project, and to make his vision a reality. you don't really get parents taking their children and standing them by the — sadly — the monument in the village and taking a photograph of prosperity, whatever. but you do with our figures — they come along, they take a lot of pictures with their children and conversations start. and it's a way of telling youngsters, you know, just to be mindful of where their freedom came from. and, you know, that's... that's... this is a passion project for those involved. for sure. today, personnel from the nearby raf base, brize norton, are lending a hand. like many in the armed forces, the station commander has a family linked to the second world war — her mother's father drove a tank onto sword beach during the d—day landings. it wasn't something he talked about quite a lot, and i thinkl

he was just that kind of quite a modest, reserved man. - and we learn about our history when you're in the military, i right from day one of being in the service, so we knowl the sacrifices that our- predecessors have made — and they made them under really difficult conditions, as well. - but, of course, it's really- important to remember the people that made those sacrifices, because if not, then - what was it all for? the silhouettes will travel to normandy in these specially created stillages, adorned with poetry, prose and poppies — hand—made by volunteers from the women's institute, and delivered in mail sacks bursting at the seams. and some have 600, 700 poppies in them from a wi, maybe from edinburgh or down in cornwall, and then another one has got a little envelope with maybe one or two in them. but every one comes with a letter, or a card — and honestly — about who they know, somebody that was involved in the d—day at normandy. and even if they're just given one poppy, that makes a difference. it means the world to dan

and his volunteer army to have stan's approval — notjust of the concept, but also the design, as the men are depicted with their heads bowed. if they'd have all been stood up like this, you know, it wouldn't have been quite so... the reverence is there. and with a bowed head is really good. really good. i'm... i'm proud to be here, and to see it myself. dan's ambition is to create a mobile display that can travel around during commemorations. his mission — as with the normandy memorial itself — is to encourage people to pause, remember and to learn — but also to ensure the fallen are never forgotten. john maguire, bbc news, 0xfordshire. a visit to the doctor's is something that some children can find frightening.

so, medicalstudents from bristol university have been helping primary school pupils by teaching first aid — using teddy bears. the children also learnt some potentially life—saving skills, including how to apply a bandage. 0ur reporter harriet robinson was at one of their classes. oh, no! and i fixed it. this is teddy bear hospital, and these children are learning how to put bandages on their injured, fluffy friends. we're having a lot of fun. all the kids were so excited about it. they were so engaged. we had so much fun. we learned loads of stuff. it was really, really good. the sessions are run by medical students from the university of bristol to make any potential hospital trips a little less scary, and to teach these year one and two pupils some basic first aid. teddies are usefuljust because it's something that children are really familiar with, and it's quite common in hospitals and doctors to maybe put your stethoscope on a teddy first to show a child that it's not

going to be painful and that it's... and what's going to happen before it happens to them. as well as learning how to put bandages on and make slings, they also get to listen to each other�*s hearts using a stethoscope, and learn more about different parts of the body. i was listening to my friend arlo's heart. hello! giggling. ilike... oh, i like doing that. kate said they're told the children often go home and tell their parents all about what they've learnt. although, at the time, - it can sort of look a bit chaotic and like there's lots of things going on, i think they tend i to actually pick up| quite a lot from it. hearts don't actually look like a normal heart. what do they look like? they're kind of looking like a blob. did you learn how to put a bandage on? were you good at it? wrap it, wrap it around. when you've nearly finished the bandage, you just put it back inside. looks like we're in safe hands.

the first part of a brand new series from peaky blinders creator steven knight aired on bbc one last night. this town is set in 1980s birmingham, and follows the formation of a band and the rise of the two tone music genre. two tone became one of the most famous sounds of the 80s with bands such as the specials and the selecter, and it all started in the west midlands. 0ur reporter ben sidwell can tell us more. i don't think we were a political party, we were a pop group, but we had this political message. what i thought was odd at the time was if somebody could have a record out in that period and not mention what was going on outside in the street. # i bought my baby a red radio. # he played it all. day, go—go a—go—go.

i've always felt very, very strongly that the two—tone movement was bigger than all of us. that's why it survives. it was that moment in time, at the time nobody saw. but it was unique. coventry, 1979. a backdrop of rising unemployment, social unrest and racial tension that gave birth to a genre of music that seemed to sum up the feel of the city and the country — two—tone. it was the only reason i wanted to write songs was the enormities that were going on. we were only singing about what was being talked about in every pub and at every bus stop. it wasn't just about the music, but that was the backdrop to our lives. so whatever you're bringing to the stage, you're bringing part of your life too, part of your thinking, part of your way of interpreting the world at that time. bands such as the selecter and the specials from coventry

and the beat from birmingham were at the forefront of two—tone, made up of both black and white musicians, sending a very visual message to a divided nation. it was just great to look out at a sea of people and see yourself reflected in it. and, you know, you were fronting to a whole load of people, some of which actually didn't like you very much. they liked the music, but they actually didn't like it. we were very different people i and i think that was the, for me, that was the interesting i thing about the specials. lynval golding was the first black person that i'd ever sat down - and talked to in my life. the thing that i think that we all get wrong about the specials is their songs are of a moment. they were bob dylan, they were political... they were political hand grenades. you know, too much too young was a generation.

within a few years, despite all the success, all three bands had split. but 45 years on, two—tone is still going strong and the music it created seems just as relevant. ben sidwell, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood hello again. the weather this week remains fairly unsettled. it will be wet and windy at times. but it is going to turn that a bit milder. you can see how we have the yellows and then the ambers across much of the country. still the blues across the north of scotland, until we get to the end of the week, then you can see the yellows and the ambers pushing that bit further north as it turns a little bit warmer. what we have today across the central swathe of the country is a lot of cloud and some rain, slowly edging northwards. to the south of that, some sunshine. but some showers, some of them heavy and thundery. the driest, sunniest conditions will be across the far north and north—west of scotland. feeling cooler in the breeze,

coming in from the north sea. top temperatures today up to about 15 degrees. through this evening and overnight, that band of rain continues to push northwards across scotland. cloudy and damp for northern ireland. for england and wales we have some clear skies, some mist and fog patches forming and breezy with showers, moving across the english channel. temperatures falling away under the clear skies to one or two across northern and eastern parts of england, as well as wales. into tomorrow, we start off with this rain across scotland, brisk winds here. variable amounts of cloud tomorrow, with one or two showers and some sunny skies. we also have the next batch of rain coming in from the south—west, where the wind will also pick up. temperatures six to 15 degrees, north to south. as we head to the middle of the week, we've got low pressure pushing eastwards, dragging rain with it. as we push further north, we are looking at a fair bit of cloud. rain on and off and snow in the mountains. come south, there will be

some brighter skies, but also some showers and temperatures five to about 1k degrees. heading into thursday, quite a messy picture. for scotland, the cloud and rain will be on and off. for england, wales and northern ireland we're looking at cloudy conditions, with some rain or, indeed, some showers. temperature—wise, five in the north, 16 in the south. slowly, temperatures are starting to rise. as we head into friday, it looks very much like its going to be wet and also very windy, and the forecast beyond that does remain unsettled, but slightly warmer than it has been.

live from london, this is bbc news. after two weeks of heavy bombardment, the israeli army says its operation at gaza's al—shifa hospital is complete and all troops withdrawn from the area.

shock results for president erdogan in turkey's local elections — the main opposition party claims its largest victory in almost half a century. a new hate crime law comes into force in scotland, but is it protecting minorities or blocking free speech? and germany decriminalises cannabis. the government tries to tackle the black market trade — we have a special report. hello. i'm luxmy gopal. israel's military says it has completed its operation at gaza's biggest hospital, al—shifa, and has withdrawn its troops from the area. the hospital had been under siege for two weeks. the hamas—run health ministry and palestinian witnesses had earlier reported tanks pulling back from the heavily bombarded hospital complex in gaza city.

the hospital and its surrounds have been left in ruins