Gem O'Reilly
BBC News

For some people the cost of living might mean changing grocery stores, not going on holiday or cutting back on the extras. For Lauren, it's her son's life.

Six-year-old Cohen from Basingstoke survives off the machines in his home and his mum's energy bills could rise to more than £3,000 a year.

Cohen can't walk, talk or digest food properly because he has two genetic deletion conditions called DiGeorge syndrome and 15q11.2. He's thought to be the only child in the world to have both conditions.

Lauren, Cohen's mum, said: "The cost of living crisis, for most people, it’s 'Oh we just won’t go on holiday this year' but for us it’s our son’s life."

Lauren explained to me that her gas and electric bill in December was more than £400. This has gone up from £258 the previous month.

I asked Lauren about how many devices Cohen needs to maintain his health.

She said: "He requires to be tube-fed for 18 hours a day. We use a stair lift for him to get him upstairs.

"He has hoists in the bathroom and his bedroom. All the machines that we use cost us more money. The machines that we use for Cohen keep him alive.”

Watch more here

The UK economy may have, unexpectedly, grown in November but many people are still finding themselves in financial difficulties due to the soaring cost of living.

While this can feel overwhelming, it is important to know help is available.

For anyone who feels they could do with some support, here’s a list of organisations that could help:

• Citizens Advice, external - an essential resource for advice about dealing with built-up debt you’re struggling to pay off, ensuring you don’t lose your home and any other serious problems people with financial troubles can face
• StepChange, external - for advice on debt, budgeting, financial advice, and methods of prioritising debts(the most important order in which to pay back money owed)
• Money Advice Trust, external - runs a confidential debt-line via phone or webchat, as well as a second line for small business owners or self-employed people in need of assistance
• MoneyHelper, external - provides guidance with how to contact and speak to anyone you owe money to(be it a bank, company or person) about your issues paying the back
• Mental Health & Money Advice, external - for support and tips to lessen the strain of finding yourself in financial trouble, as well as maintaining your mental health as much as possible through tough times

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier this week, the Resolution Foundation published its living standards outlook for the UK. In the report, the organisation outlined key trends and predictions for 2023.

According to the report, external, based on data collected in November 2022, three quarters of adults in the UK said they were cutting down on overall spending.

Nearly half of people taking part in their survey said they are "quite worried or very worried" about their energy bills during the winter months.

Some 27% of those surveyed in November said they were using their savings for daily living expenses during the previous four weeks - a jump from 20% in June.

Looking ahead, according to some modelling data, the Resolution Foundation says rising interest rates will boost savings and investments, meaning that earners in the top 5% will see their income rise by 4% between 2021-22 and 2023-24.

The cost of living crisis is set to ease in 2024, but real wages are not expected to return to the levels they were during the first quarter of 2022 until the end of 2027.

The organisation also suggests absolute poverty is set to rise in the short-run, which would mean an additional 800,000 people in poverty.

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

Image source, EPA

When pondering the outlook for the UK economy, it is always worth considering what is happening in the housing market.

Even though we do not move home that often, it is something economic analysts watch closely. After all, when lots of homes are built, bought and sold, there is a big knock-on to other sectors, such as retail. If you buy a new home, you may well buy a new sofa too.

There is a widespread expectation of a slowdown in the housing market, and falling house prices this year. Higher mortgage rates are part of the reason for that.

This week, housebuilders have reported caution among buyers, meaning they are cautious too.

This kind of trend often grabs the attention of chancellors when writing their budgets - the next of which is in mid-March.

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

The brewer of Tennent’s lager has warned its investors that trading is being affected by lower consumer spending.

C&C, which also brews Bulmer's and Magners cider, put part of the drop down to the impact of rail strikes on city centre sales over the festive period.

But the Irish firm, who operate a distribution business getting other products to pubs and restaurants as well, told investors it expects these challenges to remain "in the near term".

What does all of this mean in real terms for people?

Paul Dales, chief UK economist for Capital Economics, says people will feel the pain of rising interest rates and continued high inflation.

He says people are going to be "increasingly paying more for their food".

Paul also says people are going to be paying more for borrowing money, such as mortgage debt.

Ben King
Business reporter, BBC News

At Gtech in Worcester, they’ve definitely noticed the economy slowing down.

The company designs and sells cordless vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers and other tools. After a busy pandemic, when people were keen to invest in keeping their homes and gardens looking nice, this year demand has begun to decline.

“We can feel that, yes, there's probably a recession coming on, people are finding things difficult,” says Nick Grey, founder of the business.

“They're kind of worried about their basic costs of heating and fuel and all the rest of it and the worries of inflation.”

Black Friday at the end of November was busy, but December was “very, very slow,” he says.

Gtech products are designed to be durable and energy-efficient – which should appeal to thrifty consumers. But they’re reducing their spending on marketing, as businesses often do in recessions.

Gtech gave its staff a £1000 cost-of-living payment in December, and it’s given its lower-paid staff a relatively more generous pay rise than the senior workers, as they're more affected by rising costs.

“I think the next 12 months are going to be tough,” says Grey.

“We’re just trying to make sure we do the basics well, and that when all this blows over, we're positioned well to grow and recover.”

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

Image source, PA Media

These numbers are a little like the efforts of Wales and England in the men's football World Cup - some short-term excitement but quite a few questions still emerge.

The economy was boosted by some spending during the tournament. Some retailers have also been reporting higher than expected spending by shoppers ahead of Christmas.

But analysts are clear that living standards are under serious pressure. Many people will be worried about their festive credit card bill. Domestic energy bills will almost certainly rise in April, even though they may fall after that.

Cautious businesses may also hold back on investment, meaning less job creation, and they are also likely to resist some pay demands they feel add to the pressure.

John Campbell
BBC News NI Economics and Business Editor

Although the UK as a whole may have avoided recession for now, official figures suggest it's already arrived in Northern Ireland.

NI's statistics agency, Nisra, produces local output figures which suggest economic output shrank by 0.3% in both the second and third quarters of 2022.

Two consecutive quarters of negative growth is a technical definition of recession.

Nisra said the fall in output in the third quarter reflected a weak performance in construction and services.

Image source, .

The UK economy may have grown slightly by 0.1% in November but it shrank overall in the latest three-month period by 0.3%.

On top of that, economic forecasters are warning we could still fall into recession this year.

To help make sense of all this, we'll have experts - including personal finance analyst Myron Jobson - answering your questions later.

We're keen to hear from businesses, as well as individuals, about how these figures affect you.

Send us questions about what you'd like to know going into 2023 - government support at work or advice as the cost of living continues to rise.

You can get in touch in the following ways:

• Email: yourquestions@bbc.co.uk
• WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
• Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay, external
• Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.

Image source, Getty Images

With many households struggling with hefty gas and electricity bills, there may be some better news on the way for energy prices, according to latest forecasts.

Energy bills could fall further than previously forecast later this year, new projections suggest, as a result of falling wholesale gas prices.

As things stand, a typical household gas and electricity bill is expected to rise from £2,500 a year to £3,000 a year in April as the government cuts back on the level of help it is giving.

However, finance firm Investec predicts that falling energy gas prices mean typical annual bills could fall below this from July, to £2,478.

Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight has suggested that bills will settle at about £2,800 a year in the summer.

The Times reports, external that Deutsche Bank has estimated that if bills do fall below £3,000, it could save the government about £10bn as it won't have to spend as much on subsidising energy costs.

The UK economy beat expectations and grew by 0.1% in November.

This means it's much less likely that the country was in recession at the end of 2022, says James Smith, who's from the think tank the Resolution Foundation.

However, Smith says in a tweet, external the Bank of England and the OBR are "forecasting the economy to contract through much of 2023 - so we're likely to fall into recession".

Smith also says we should put the UK's current economic situation into a broader context.

Looking at GDP alone, he says it's currently 6.4% below the pre-pandemic trends (during the third quarter of the year). And it is more than 20% below the pre-financial crisis trend, Smith adds.

"This is clearly disastrous," he says.

Image source, Resolution Foundation

The UK economy may have, unexpectedly, grown in November but many people are still finding themselves in financial difficulties due to the soaring cost of living.

While this can feel overwhelming, it is important to know help is available.

For anyone who feels they could do with some support, here’s a list of organisations that could help:

• Citizens Advice, external - an essential resource for advice about dealing with built-up debt you’re struggling to pay off, ensuring you don’t lose your home and any other serious problems people with financial troubles can face
• StepChange, external - for advice on debt, budgeting, financial advice, and methods of prioritising debts(the most important order in which to pay back money owed)
• Money Advice Trust, external - runs a confidential debt-line via phone or webchat, as well as a second line for small business owners or self-employed people in need of assistance
• MoneyHelper, external - provides guidance with how to contact and speak to anyone you owe money to(be it a bank, company or person) about your issues paying the back
• Mental Health & Money Advice, external - for support and tips to lessen the strain of finding yourself in financial trouble, as well as maintaining your mental health as much as possible through tough times

To put it mildly, things aren't looking stellar from an economics standpoint in many places right now. Earlier this week, the World Bank predicted the global economy is "perilously close to falling into recession".

The bank, which lends money to low and middle-income countries, expects the world economy to grow by just 1.7% this year - a sharp decrease from the 3% it predicted in June.

The report blames a number of factors stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic.

Its president, David Malpass, said the downturn would be "broad-based" and growth in people's earnings in almost every part of the world was likely to "be slower than it was during the decade before Covid-19".

The 1.7% growth figure would be the third lowest since 1991, with only the recessions of 2009 and 2020 - which were caused by the global financial crisis and the Covid pandemic -hitting global growth more severely.

Image source, .

Image source, EPA

After today's surprise news that the economy grew in November, many are now wondering whether the UK is about to fall into a recession, or not.

An economy is said to be in recession if it shrinks for two consecutive three-month periods.

Between July and September - the third quarter of the year - the economy contracted by 0.3%. So if the economy shrinks again in the October to December period then it will be in recession.

However, the month of October itself saw growth of 0.5%, and now we have November's 0.1% increase.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics, which produces the GDP data, was asked what would have to happen in December to push the economy into recession.

"If all else is equal, so no revisions to earlier months, for quarter four to be negative the economy has to fall by at least 0.6%," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

And we won't have to wait long to find out. The figures for December are due to be published on 10 February.

The weakness of the UK economy is causing "challenges" for one of the UK's largest privately-owned construction companies, its chairman told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Sir James Wates of Wates Group, which employs 4,000 people, said the company was "definitely seeing a slowdown in new orders being confirmed and that is a concern".

If the economy did fall into recession, it would mean a period of "great challenge", Sir James says.

"We have to adapt and we have to play the game that's in front of us.

"Nobody wants to make job cuts, nobody wants to slow down work, but nonetheless you have to maintain a business going forward."

Image source, .

As we've been reporting, the UK economy grew slightly by 0.1% in November but shrank overall in the latest three-month period by 0.3%.

To help make sense of what this means, our expert, personal finance analyst Myron Jobson, will be here later to answer your questions.

Send him questions about what you'd like to know about the economic situation, saving money, and tips for coping with pressures on our finances as the cost of living continues to rise.

You can also get in touch in the following ways:

• Email: yourquestions@bbc.co.uk
• WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
• Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay, external
• Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.

Hannah Miller
BBC Breakfast business presenter

While the Office for National Statistics latest figures show that the economy grew very slightly by 0.1% in November, the chancellor has already suggested that the country is in recession.

Looking at one month gives us a bit of the picture – but looking at several months gives us the whole picture.

Today's figures were slightly rosier than we were expecting, but if we look at the three months leading to November GDP fell by 0.3%, so that is the general direction of travel.

The services sector went up by 0.2% and the biggest driver of that came from us all going out buying food and drinks around the time of the World Cup. Manufacturing was the main driver of the economy shrinking during the period of November.

However, in order to be in recession the economy has to be shrinking for two successive three-month periods.

So why does that matter to you at home? Well when we are in recession it tends to mean that companies have less money to raise wages and they can't employ as many people.

It also means that there's less money going in tax to the Treasury so they have less money to spend on public services like schools and hospitals.

So slightly better figures than we were expecting this morning, but it will be all eyes on next month to see what the economy looks like.

Image source, Getty Images

Today's figures provide further evidence that UK economic growth is "heading in the wrong direction", the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said.

The BCC says the contraction in the economy over the three months to November "sends a clearer signal of the current trajectory of the economy" than the surprise growth seen in November alone.

"Unprecedented energy costs, new trade barriers with the EU, and lasting damage caused by Covid lockdowns have created the hardest trading conditions for small businesses in recent history," said David Bharier, the BCC's head of research.

The group said it expected the economy to contract until the end of 2023, and it has seen "significant falls" in business confidence.

"To get back to growth in the long-term, firms will need to see the removal of trade barriers, particularly with the EU, investment in public infrastructure, and measures to improve their access to appropriately skilled staff."

Image source, PA Media

Let's hear from shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves now, who's focusing on the figures which show the economy contracted by 0.3% in the three months to November.

“Today’s results are just another page in the book of failure that is the Tory record on growth," she says in a statement, adding that "further economic pain" will be a concern for families "already struggling".

Reeves claims people are fed up of feeling worse off under the Conservatives, pointing to what she calls "13 years of Tory failure and wasted opportunities".

This has "left growth on the floor and our economy weakened", she adds.