joining me now is our cost of living correspondent kevin peachey. what will this mean for people?ge annual bill for people in england and wales. £36 more if you are in scotland. but that's an average, so it very much depends on where you live. in fact there is a slight fall for most people in wales stop and if you have a metre it depends on how much water you use. for the majority of people this is a rise and it will come at a time when water companies are under intense scrutiny over issues like sewage going into rivers. the bills actually will have risen more if it were not for the regulator ofwat stepping into penalised a host of companies for missing targets on things like leaks, pollution and so on. but i think this is very much a warm up act before steeper bill rises that are proposed for the five years from 2025. companies say that investment is needed to update what at times is victorian infrastructure stop consumer groups are saying that's all very well but you have to consider wider cost of living pressures and maybe more companies should use more of their profits to help

joining me now is our cost of living correspondent, kevin peachey, chris martin, professor of economics from university of bath, rajan lakhani, head of money from personalfinance firm plum, and susannah streeter, head of money and markets, hargreaves lansdown. wonderful panel to discuss this news. a shock for many people in the uk and around the world. let's get on with the question is because lows have come into us and if you have got any while you are watching, e—mail us. let's start with a question from chris who asks, what is a technical recession and what does being in a recession mean? this is an important question because definitions are everything. chris, let's start with you to try and answer chris's questions. what a recession means _ answer chris's questions. what a recession means is _ answer chris's questions. what a recession means is if _ answer chris's questions. what a recession means is if you - answer chris's questions. what a recession means is if you take i answer chris's questions. what a l recession means is if you take the total amount produced by firms and indiv

kevin peachey, bbc news.police officers where their newborn baby was when they were arrested in brighton last february, a court has heard. two days after their arrest the body of baby victoria was found under some rubbish in a shed nearby. the couple deny manslaughter by gross negligence of the child. daniel sandford joins us from the old bailey where's he's been in court. daniel. yes, jane, thejury yes, jane, the jury have yes, jane, thejury have been hearing how seven—and—a—half weeks after police first started looking for constance marten and mark gordon and their newborn baby, a member of the public spotted them in a row of shops in brighton on the 27th of february last year. the member of the public said that he had recognised them from the news, started following them and then dialled 999. thejury have been hearing from the police officer who made the arrest and also watching the video from his body—worn video camera. police sergeant robert button said that constance marten had what appeared to be furni

kevin peachey, bbc news. network reddit has been giving more details of its plans to launch on the new york exchange. but we still don't know when it'll happen — or how much its shares will cost. erin delmore joins us from new york. a lot of excitement about the launch? . , , , , ., launch? partly because it is two ears in launch? partly because it is two years in the _ launch? partly because it is two years in the making, _ launch? partly because it is two years in the making, that - launch? partly because it is two years in the making, that is - launch? partly because it is two | years in the making, that is how long we have seen them in this process, and it marks the first big tech company doing this in the year and the first social media ipo since 2019 which was pinterest, and we are in the midst of a period that is showing lukewarm demand for ipos although the exception is the biggest ipo of 2023, and there are a couple of other things which a company will do when they are preparing for the ipo, we have

let's speak to our cost of living correspondent, kevin peachey. le bit of relief for people. energy prices, the cost of heating and lighting homes has been one of the chief reasons for this cost of living difficulties people have been facing, that and food prices as well. along with many other essential bills. but there has been some good news today. the regulator for the energy sector in the uk, ofgem, said that in england, wales and scotland the cost of energy would come down in april. it sets a cap every three months. this will be for a further three months from april. it sets a cap on the unit price of gas and electricity. that means the cost of each unit of energy, not the total bill that it puts a limit on, so if you use more energy, you pay more, but the good news for people is that for somebody who uses a typical amount of gas and electric, the annual bill should be down about £230, £238, for the year, and that will take the bill to around £1690 a year, and that is the lowest it has been forjust over two years. giving some relief to people.

panel of experts answering your questions. joining me now is our cost of living correspondent, kevin peachey and susannah streeter, head of money and markets, hargreaves lansdown.

our cost—of—living correspondent, kevin peachey, has more.to the kitchen so she only needs to warm one room. it is one of many changes around her home to keep their energy use and bills down. i’zre home to keep their energy use and bills down.— and bills down. i've worked all m life, and bills down. i've worked all my life. and — and bills down. i've worked all my life. and a _ and bills down. i've worked all my life, and a lot _ and bills down. i've worked all my life, and a lot of— and bills down. i've worked all my life, and a lot of it - and bills down. i've worked all my life, and a lot of it with - my life, and a lot of it with being a single parent, had to do two, threejobs, etc, buti thought i had provided enough, and i still can't do what i would like to do, and that is use my lounge!— use my lounge! millions of eo - le use my lounge! millions of peeple like _ use my lounge! millions of people like jackie - use my lounge! millions of people like jackie did - people like jackie did everything they could to keep the cost down. ofgem's

our cost—of—living correspondent, kevin peachey, reports.er armchairs into the kitchen, so she only needs to warm one room. it's one of many changes around her home to keep her energy use and bills down. i've worked all my life, and a lot of it with being a single parent, i had to do two or threejobs, etc. but i thought i had provided enough and i still can't do what i would like to do, and that is use my lounge. millions of people like jackie did everything they could to keep the costs down. ofgem's price cap sets a limit on what can be charged for each unit of energy. so if you use more, then you pay more. but, owing to lower wholesale costs paid by suppliers, there will soon be a sharp drop in the unit price paid for gas and electricity in people's homes. the fall in energy prices will kick in in april when hopefully the weather is a little better. but, for those who pay by direct debits, the cost is smoothed out over the year. but, for millions of people who use prepayment meters, it comes after a long and expensive winter. charities say