Author: BBC

Lucy HookerBusiness reporterGetty ImagesThe UK inflation rate fell to 3.6% in the year to October, but food prices rose again following a dip in September.Prices are rising at their slowest pace for four months, helped by smaller rises in household energy costs and lower hotel costs, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.Economists had expected a slightly bigger fall from September’s 3.8% to 3.5%.The latest inflation report comes just a week ahead of the government’s much-anticipated Budget.”I’m determined to do more to bring prices down,” said Chancellor Rachel Reeves, after the latest data was released.”I recognise that inflation and the…

Faisal Islam,economics editor and Rachel Clun,business reporterGetty ImagesPeople should not “blindly trust” everything AI tools tell them, the boss of Google’s parent company Alphabet has told the BBC.In an exclusive interview, chief executive Sundar Pichai said that AI models are “prone to errors” and urged people to use them alongside other tools.Mr Pichai said it highlighted the importance of having a rich information ecosystem, rather than solely relying on AI technology.”This is why people also use Google search, and we have other products that are more grounded in providing accurate information.”While AI tools were helpful “if you want to creatively…

Some 380 hospice beds out of around 2,000 lie empty in England because of financial pressures, say bosses.Hospice UK has told BBC News this is up from 300 a year ago and illustrates the severe challenges facing the sector.Beds are left empty to save money – since staffing and caring is costly – and so are unavailable to patients.Hospices are run by charities, raising between two-thirds and three-quarters of their income from donations and private fund raising. They depend on the rest from the NHS, and managers say this funding has not kept pace with costs, such as employer national…

Archie MitchellBusiness reporterPA MediaHousehold energy bills are expected to fall slightly in the new year, according to consultancy Cornwall Insight.The forecaster, widely respected for the accuracy of its predictions, expects homes using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,733 from January.That would be a decrease of £22 per year, or 1%, from the current £1,755 price cap for a typical household’s annual energy bill.But Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, warned the decrease is “only part of the picture”, with bills set to climb again in April.”This time, it’s not higher wholesale prices driving the…

Zoe KleinmanTechnology editorBBCDue to “brain fog” BBC technology editor Zoe Kleinman had to hold notes during a recent live TV reportWhen I rather nervously shared a personal post about dealing with brain fog at work on the social network LinkedIn last week, I had no idea that it would have such an enormous impact.It’s been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Women have stopped me on the street to talk to me about it.I’ve been overwhelmed by hundreds of messages from people sharing support and their own experiences of it.Usually I cover technology news. But given the response, it felt…

Jessica LaneEast Yorkshire and LincolnshireBBCRosie Halsall, 18, wants to make free sports bras and fitting available in secondary schoolsA former Team GB roller derby skater says the cost of sports bras is discouraging younger females taking part in physical activity.Rosie Halsall, 18, from Sheffield, is campaigning for free sports bras and fittings for secondary school girls, allowing them to participate and improve their long-term health.”I know a lot of girls who don’t wear sports bras and don’t want to do PE because they feel uncomfortable,” she said.Miss Halsall’s proposal has been backed by Lincolnshire football club Sleaford Town Juniors, which…

Lucy AshtonSouth Yorkshire political reporterBBCDawn Hayes is the cook at the breakfast clubDawn Hayes is cooking sausages and hash browns in the kitchen of Shirecliffe Community Centre in Sheffield.She is helping out at an adult breakfast club where parents and grandparents who have children at the adjoining Meadows nursery can have a hot meal for £1.”It stops a lot of people going home and being lonely and it makes sure single parents get a meal,” she says.The club is unusual in catering for adults at a time when many families are struggling with the cost of food – and parents…

Shiona McCallumSenior technology reporterBBCMost women will relate to the misery of inconsistent sizing in high-street shops.A pair of jeans could easily be a size 10 by one brand and a size 14 in another, leaving customers confused and disheartened.It has led to a global deluge of returns, costing fashion retailers an estimated £190bn a year as would-be shoppers wonder what size they’re meant to buy from which store.I didn’t have to look far to find people experiencing the problem. “I don’t trust high-street sizing,” one person tells me, as she browses one of London’s popular shopping streets. “To be honest,…

More than 50,000 people in the UK each month get a private prescription for medical cannabis.

Residents are to be offered advice on coping with the challenges of winter through a series of money and wellbeing roadshows. Organised by West Northamptonshire Council, the events will bring together organisations to provide practical help, from home energy efficiency to debt advice – and mental health support.The events are part of the authority’s wider money and wellbeing support programme, giving residents the opportunity to get tailored advice in a welcoming and inclusive space.Laura Couse, Reform UK councillor and cabinet member for adult care and public health, said: “It is important that you know that you do not have to…