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| | Energy bills rise for millions | |  | | | | | | | | | It's the day many of us have been dreading, when a 54% increase in the energy price cap - amounting to nearly £700 - sends the typical duel-fuel energy bill soaring to £1,971 a year. Council tax, water bills and car tax are also up for some, while one analyst says we should expect a further increase in October to push up the average annual energy bill to £2,600. It's "potentially ruinous for millions of people", says Dame Clare Moriarty, of charity Citizens Advice. It referred 24,752 people to food banks or other support last month, up 44% on March 2021.
Wholesale prices have been affected by the war in Ukraine and ongoing pressure on suppliers. Websites struggled to cope as customers provided meter readings on Thursday in a bid to pay no more than required. The Office for National Statistics said low earners, renters, parents, people with disabilities, unemployed people and divorcees were least able to afford a bill shock.
Some 2.5 million of the lowest paid will benefit from rises in National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage rates - explained here - with the latter up from £8.91 to £9.50 an hour. Government help includes a £200 reduction to energy bills in October - which must be paid back in instalments - and a £150 reduction in council tax bills for 80% of billpayers. "It's tough for people," says Chancellor Rishi Sunak, acknowledging the price hikes. But he adds: "We can't ameliorate all of it, sadly." British Gas owner Centrica is giving grants to customers most in need. But boss Chris O'Shea says: "The market has gone through quite a change, and profits have reduced quite substantially." | | | | | |
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| | Focus on... the cost of living | | | | | | |
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| | Russia regroups to attack eastern Ukraine | | | | | | | | | Russian forces are regrouping to double down on their attacks in eastern Ukraine, according to Nato's secretary general. But Jens Stoltenberg says cities including the capital, Kyiv, remain under pressure, with continued shelling "bringing even more suffering". Moscow had said it would reduce military activity in northern Ukraine and focus on "liberating" the Donbas region in the south-east. The UK says Russia is redeploying up to 2,000 troops from the former Soviet state of Georgia, north-east of Turkey, where it supports breakaway rebels. The British defence secretary says Russia's "army is exhausted" and its reputation "trashed". Ben Wallace told Sky News President Vladimir Putin had rendered Russia "a lesser country", adding: "He is now a man in a cage he built himself."
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| | Stand by for the World Cup draw | | | | | | | | | If you need something frivolous to look forward to, the draw for football's World Cup takes place later. As one of the seeded teams, England will be keen to avoid a scenario where they end up in a group with Germany and Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal - who are both unseeded. Both Scotland - whose play-off semi-final with Ukraine has been delayed by the war - and Wales, who will face the winner of that match, have high hopes of reaching the finals. And what odds of them being drawn against the Three Lions? Here's everything you need to know about the draw. | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | The decision on testing has come down to a trade-off... the government has decided the money will be best invested elsewhere. Nearly £27bn has been spent on testing and tracing in England, since the start of the pandemic, a huge sum that could go a long way if diverted elsewhere.
To put it into context, it is similar to what is budgeted for GP care, four times what is spent on healthy lifestyle programmes to tackle things such as obesity and smoking, or enough to tackle the backlog in hospital operations. Prof Allyson Pollock, a public health specialist at Newcastle University, says the public has been "conditioned" into thinking mass Covid testing is needed, while the NHS and patients "go without the resources they need". | | | | | | | | | | | | Nick Triggle | | Health correspondent | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | The papers are dominated by grim headlines which, for once, are not focused on the war in Ukraine. "April Cruel Day", puns the Daily Mirror, as it describes rises in energy and water bills, council tax and national insurance, broadband charges and the price of stamps. "Bleak Friday" is the Guardian's term for 1 April, as it reports how a flood of people crashed energy providers' websites when trying to submit meter readings on the last day before a hike in prices. The Sun says Russian President Vladimir Putin's attempt to force wholesale prices even higher, by refusing to sell gas unless countries pay for it in roubles, is a "pain in the gas". Meanwhile, the Metro reports "snow joke" on April Fool's Day, as it pictures Nottinghamshire cricketers running for cover as wintry weather interrupts a photoshoot. Read the review. | | | | | |
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| | | | | Pancreas Artificial organ to revolutionise diabetes care | | | | | | | | | | | Volcano Robot boat to map eruption aftermath | | | | | | | Police Two million anti-social behaviour reports go unattended | | | | | | |
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| | If you watch one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you listen to one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you read one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | Need something different? | | | | | | | | | Such were the reverberations from best actor Will Smith's Oscars slap - dished out to comedian Chris Rock - it's hardly been out of the news all week. But there's been plenty more to digest - from the dresses worn on the Academy Awards red carpet to the impounding of a superyacht in London. Test how well you followed the news in our quiz of the week.
And on the subject of keep abreast of events, how many of us got our first taste of a news bulletin thanks to BBC Newsround. The programme is celebrating 50 years of explaining the world to children. And whether you grew up in the eras of John Craven, Lizo Mzimba or Hayley Hassall, there will be something in this review to trigger some nostalgia. | | | | | |
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| | | Let us know what you think of this newsletter by emailing bbcnewsdaily@bbc.co.uk. If you’d like to recommend it to a friend, forward this email. New subscribers can sign up here. | | | | | |
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