:00:00. > :00:10.there would be no currency union. Now on BBC News, this week's Your
:00:11. > :00:20.Money with Declan Curry. Hello, welcome to Your Money. We
:00:21. > :00:23.help you make the most of your cash. Here every weekend on BBC News
:00:24. > :00:26.television ` available all week on the BBC iPlayer. Here's what we've
:00:27. > :00:30.got this week. Energy bills frozen by one big firm. Will the others
:00:31. > :00:33.follow? Should you switch supplier? The people who make money lending
:00:34. > :00:36.their spare cash to people or businesses ` the interest they earn
:00:37. > :00:38.could soon be tax`free. Brian Milligan reports on plans to put
:00:39. > :00:42.peer`to`peer lending into ISA accounts, but be warned, there is
:00:43. > :00:44.also a risk you could lose some of your money.
:00:45. > :00:47.And, too many parents are still finding their children looking at
:00:48. > :00:52.unsuitable content on the internet ` how do we keep them safe online?
:00:53. > :00:54.You're clever people. You know to check the small print, especially
:00:55. > :00:57.when companies say they're freezing their prices. SSE, which includes
:00:58. > :00:59.Atlantic, Scottish Hydro, Southern Electric and SWALEC, says it has
:01:00. > :01:04.frozen gas and electricity prices until 2016 to give customers "peace
:01:05. > :01:09.of mind". But, it's only for customers on, or who switch to, its
:01:10. > :01:12.standard variable tariff. Other tariffs aren't covered by the
:01:13. > :01:16.pledge, so not all of its ten million customers will necessarily
:01:17. > :01:19.benefit. The freeze follows big rises in energy bills last autumn `
:01:20. > :01:25.you'll remember SSE put up its prices by over 8% then. It then
:01:26. > :01:30.reduced that increase to 4% when the Government reduced green taxes. A
:01:31. > :01:37.typical SSE customer on a dual fuel bill now pays around ?1,200 a year
:01:38. > :01:47.for gas and electricity combined. Ann Robinson is Director of Consumer
:01:48. > :01:53.Policy at uSwitch.com. You welcome this price freeze? Yes, it is
:01:54. > :01:58.important. I think it will give peace of mind, but I don't think it
:01:59. > :02:02.is enough. The reason I say that is because the price is still on the
:02:03. > :02:08.high side, and there is a lot more expensive than some of the smaller
:02:09. > :02:12.players on the market. My advice to people is don't just sit back and
:02:13. > :02:18.think great, fantastic. To shop around because you can save yourself
:02:19. > :02:24.probably ?250 if you have never switched. Even after all these years
:02:25. > :02:30.of saying you should switch supplier? Yes, people can still make
:02:31. > :02:34.significant savings. There is quite a bit difference between the
:02:35. > :02:38.cheapest and most expensive deals. I do think people should shop around
:02:39. > :02:43.and not just think fantastic, I don't need to do anything. Looking
:02:44. > :02:48.at the small print, it is only for customers on standard tariffs. If
:02:49. > :02:54.you are only fixed rate, you will think they are frozen already, but
:02:55. > :03:03.they could unfixed those rates before this one runs out? Yes, but
:03:04. > :03:07.if you are already on a fixed rate, don't worry, they can't change that.
:03:08. > :03:11.They cannot change your rate if you are fixed, so don't worry about
:03:12. > :03:17.that. And SSE says customers can switch to the standard tariff
:03:18. > :03:23.without penalty. Do you think people should switch to SSE because it has
:03:24. > :03:29.frozen these rates? No, I don't, it is still one of the most expensive
:03:30. > :03:34.providers. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't switch, so it is good
:03:35. > :03:38.for the loyal customers who are not going to move, but I want to get
:03:39. > :03:43.those loyal customers to think about moving because they could do a lot
:03:44. > :03:50.better. You are hoping other companies will announce a similar
:03:51. > :03:57.move? Yes. It is still worth switching. If they are going to
:03:58. > :04:02.change their prices, there is still quite a big difference. And do you
:04:03. > :04:10.know what? There are two really good long`term fixed deals on the
:04:11. > :04:16.market. They are cheaper than SSE's standard. How good is that? So the
:04:17. > :04:18.deals are out there. That price freeze isn't pain`free for workers
:04:19. > :04:22.or shareholders ` the company's cutting 500 jobs to pay for it, and
:04:23. > :04:24.shelving three planned offshore wind farms. There could be a more
:04:25. > :04:28.substantial shake`up of bills for all the energy firms. The fair trade
:04:29. > :04:30.watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, is to investigate
:04:31. > :04:37.the big six energy firms, effectively asking if they should be
:04:38. > :04:47.split up. It's thought the six firms account for about 95% of the UK's
:04:48. > :04:52.energy supply market. So, the energy markets are being
:04:53. > :04:56.investigated, they have been before, but they effectively got a clean
:04:57. > :05:02.bill of health. What is different this time? This new authority that
:05:03. > :05:07.comes into life next week, I think it is going to do a really thorough
:05:08. > :05:12.job. The important thing is, they are not just looking at things that
:05:13. > :05:15.are going wrong, they are charged with making markets work, and this
:05:16. > :05:23.market is not working as well as it should be. Why would spitting at the
:05:24. > :05:27.companies make the market better? If spitting them up means we have a
:05:28. > :05:32.better market, a better supply market, have new players on the
:05:33. > :05:37.block so that there are lots of people actively competing for our
:05:38. > :05:42.business, it will be good. I am not convinced they have to be split up.
:05:43. > :05:48.What I want is to see a market that works for all of us. We need to take
:05:49. > :05:52.the power back ourselves. Let's get involved. The other thing I would
:05:53. > :05:55.say is that Ofgem have another fact that they are going to mount a
:05:56. > :06:01.consumer engagement campaign. Yes please, and do it well. Get more
:06:02. > :06:05.people doing something now. This investigation could take two years,
:06:06. > :06:12.or longer, before anything comes out. We have to help ourselves. What
:06:13. > :06:15.about the argument from the companies themselves that the
:06:16. > :06:20.uncertainty now caused by this review means that they have had to
:06:21. > :06:27.pause investment in new power stations, in improvements to the
:06:28. > :06:32.supply network Aston Martin? What I would say is that investment has
:06:33. > :06:40.already stalled, and the power network goes on anyway. As far as
:06:41. > :06:46.generation is concerned, we have got about 10% of gas mothballed. It
:06:47. > :06:50.would not take a big incentive to get that out of mothballs, so the
:06:51. > :06:54.light should stay on. And Robinson, thank you for joining us.
:06:55. > :07:01.Barclays has unveiled new terms and conditions for its overdrafts. From
:07:02. > :07:04.the middle of June, instead of paying a percentage of the amount
:07:05. > :07:08.you're in the red, you'll pay a daily fee ` somewhere between 75p
:07:09. > :07:10.and ?3 a day. Will this leave you better off, we wondered? The
:07:11. > :07:14.financial expert Andrew Haggar has done some sums ` if you were
:07:15. > :07:17.overdrawn by ?300 for three days in a month, First Direct would charge
:07:18. > :07:20.you 78p ` its interest rate is 15.9%.HSBC would charge you ?5.89 `
:07:21. > :07:23.its interest rate is 19.3%. Metro Bank would charge you ?4.44 ` its
:07:24. > :07:27.interest rate is 15%. He calculates Barclays new daily tariff could cost
:07:28. > :07:31.you as much as ?27. Again, that's for being overdrawn by ?300 for
:07:32. > :07:51.three days every month. You'll notice that's much higher.
:07:52. > :07:55.People applying for a mortgage certainly think interest rates are
:07:56. > :07:59.going to go up. The Mortgage Advice Bureau says 95% of people who
:08:00. > :08:03.applied for a home loan in February fixed their mortgage at today's
:08:04. > :08:06.rates. The City watchodg has announced an
:08:07. > :08:09.investigation...into itself. On Friday, it announced a big inquiry
:08:10. > :08:13.into the sale of millions of investments and endowments over the
:08:14. > :08:16.last four decades. It's asking if the financial companies give these
:08:17. > :08:19.older customers a bad deal and make it too expensive to switch to a
:08:20. > :08:22.better offer. The news caused a slide in share prices in financial
:08:23. > :08:28.companies ` hence the inquiry into the inquiry.
:08:29. > :08:34.The broadband company more people are unhappy with is BT. It was top
:08:35. > :08:37.of the list of most complained about broadband providers, says the
:08:38. > :08:40.watchdog OFCOM. And, many new dads don't take
:08:41. > :08:43.paternity leave because they don't think their bosses would like it.
:08:44. > :08:46.The Institute of Leadership Management shows one in four new
:08:47. > :08:49.fathers didn't take any time off after their baby was born. From next
:08:50. > :08:58.year, mothers and fathers will be able to pool their maternity and
:08:59. > :09:02.paternity leave allowance. Remember, we talked last week about
:09:03. > :09:05.how tax efficient ISA accounts are about to change. The separate limits
:09:06. > :09:08.on how much we can pay into a cash`only, or a cash and shares
:09:09. > :09:11.accounts, are being scrapped, replaced by one single, bigger
:09:12. > :09:14.limit. But there's also a change to what type of investment we can put
:09:15. > :09:18.into an ISA. Within a year, we'll be able to earn interest on some loans
:09:19. > :09:22.to people or businesses, and not pay tax on it. The loans are known as
:09:23. > :09:25.Peer`to`Peer lending, they can earn more than a bank account, but
:09:26. > :09:38.they're not as safe, and you could lose your money. Brian Milligan
:09:39. > :09:43.reports. Even though they are tax free,
:09:44. > :09:47.getting a decent return from a cash Isa these days is certainly
:09:48. > :09:53.something of an uphill struggle. But, by lending out your money in
:09:54. > :09:58.one of the new peer to peer ices, you could earn a good deal more. So,
:09:59. > :10:08.where could you money go? One answer is right up there. I invested in a
:10:09. > :10:15.wind turbine. The wind is blowing, the blades are turning... Andy Smith
:10:16. > :10:20.invested ?750 to help build a wind turbine near his home. He gets a
:10:21. > :10:27.cash return of between 7% and 8% a year. With a new peer`to`peer icer
:10:28. > :10:33.that would be tax`free also. I am helping the environment and a green
:10:34. > :10:41.and sustainable future, but it is great for the bank balance as well.
:10:42. > :10:46.To reduce risk, most lenders spread their money wisely. John Davies lent
:10:47. > :10:50.just ?100 to this film and TV composer. It is one of nearly 500
:10:51. > :10:57.different businesses he has lent to, and he loves the money he is making.
:10:58. > :11:03.Since I started investing in October last year, my average annual return
:11:04. > :11:09.is 6.5%. You know, compared that to anything you might get with a bank,
:11:10. > :11:14.and it is very favourable. What happens if it goes wrong and your
:11:15. > :11:19.borrowers can't repay you? In a cash Isa, ?85,000 of your money is
:11:20. > :11:23.automatically protected. In a peer to peer icer, it would not be. Some
:11:24. > :11:31.landing platforms do have compensation funds, but in theory,
:11:32. > :11:37.you could lose some of your money. Your capital is absolutely at risk.
:11:38. > :11:39.It is a form of investment, but the investments Hull Magistrates
:11:40. > :11:43.Treasury is going to allow is controlled, and you will only
:11:44. > :11:49.qualify if you are a more established business with a track
:11:50. > :11:56.record. The new peer`to`peer tax`free Isas will come in next
:11:57. > :12:13.year. The idea is one that could reenergise the whole of the savings
:12:14. > :12:16.market. The first stage of the overhaul of
:12:17. > :12:19.pensions, announced in the Budget has come into force this week, with
:12:20. > :12:30.retirees given greater access to their pension pots. The changes so
:12:31. > :12:35.far mean: Pension savings of up to ?30,000 can be taken as a lump sum
:12:36. > :12:38.by those aged 60 and over, up from a previous maximum of ?18,000. This is
:12:39. > :12:40.an interim arrangement before full flexibility over pension savings
:12:41. > :12:44.takes effect next April. A small pension pot of less than ?10,000 can
:12:45. > :12:47.be taken as cash by anyone aged 60 or over, regardless of their total
:12:48. > :12:50.pension wealth. Previously a small pot was judged to be less than
:12:51. > :12:53.?2,000. Those with a guaranteed pension income of more than ?12,000
:12:54. > :12:56.a year can draw down an unlimited amount from their pension pot.
:12:57. > :12:58.Previously income needed to hit more than ?20,000.
:12:59. > :13:00.Research suggests that thousands of children, some as young as six, are
:13:01. > :13:03.regularly looking at unsuitable and inappropriate content on the
:13:04. > :13:06.internet. The online video regulator claims nearly half a million people
:13:07. > :13:09.under the age of 18 accessed adult material in the month of December.
:13:10. > :13:12.Research also suggests that many parents are still in the dark about
:13:13. > :13:21.parental control tools and software they can use on their home computers
:13:22. > :13:27.and smartphones. Tom joins us now. Parents might be worried about what
:13:28. > :13:31.their children are looking at. What are your top tips for keeping
:13:32. > :13:37.children safe? Until your children are old enough or well versed enough
:13:38. > :13:41.in the base of the Internet, you absolutely have to be accessing it
:13:42. > :13:46.with them. Educate them, work with them, share the experience of going
:13:47. > :13:50.online. The best way to think about the online world is a mirror for the
:13:51. > :13:54.off`line world. All the unpleasant things you will find on the high
:13:55. > :13:58.street or backstreets, you will find online. You would not let them roam
:13:59. > :14:01.the high street on their own. And there isn't anything wrong in
:14:02. > :14:10.interfering with what they are looking at? Or setting passwords? Or
:14:11. > :14:17.worse, buying things that they shouldn't be paying for because you
:14:18. > :14:23.as the parent and up with the bill? Too many times in the recent past,
:14:24. > :14:26.parents have handed over passwords for online services, particularly
:14:27. > :14:32.for purchasing apps. They have not taken the time to understand what
:14:33. > :14:34.the possibilities are. It is like handing the child into a credit card
:14:35. > :14:39.and putting them in the toy shop. Things will go wrong.
:14:40. > :14:44.The first thing is to stay with him and read the online world like the
:14:45. > :14:49.off`line world. There are tools to monitor your child and protect them.
:14:50. > :14:53.The number one rule is to work with them until you can trust them to
:14:54. > :14:58.make decisions for themselves. Do you have to set the rules for every
:14:59. > :15:05.individual website and app, or can you set an overall thing that covers
:15:06. > :15:09.the device, the computer or spark phone `` smartphone? From your
:15:10. > :15:13.internet provider, you can set rules which block a broad set of websites
:15:14. > :15:18.that you may want to keep out of their view. It may also block them
:15:19. > :15:23.from accessing websites you do want them to, for example educational
:15:24. > :15:27.websites, that get caught up. I would not rely on those. There are
:15:28. > :15:31.useful tools on smartphones. Sometimes you want to give your
:15:32. > :15:37.child a smartphone. I do it for entertainment. There are things like
:15:38. > :15:41.parental guidance modes, where you can lock out certain aspects of the
:15:42. > :15:47.phone's capabilities while you give it to them for a few moments to play
:15:48. > :15:51.with it or watch a video, but. Them going on other websites are paying
:15:52. > :15:58.for stuff while on it. It is a great baby`sitter! What do you do when the
:15:59. > :16:02.kids work it out better than you know how to use it? You have to
:16:03. > :16:09.assume that they can anyway. They will find a way round things very
:16:10. > :16:12.quickly. It comes back to working with them. If they know more than
:16:13. > :16:16.you, learn from them, get them to tell you about what they are dimming
:16:17. > :16:22.and show you the games they play, the websites they access, how they
:16:23. > :16:29.use the social experts. Let them explain it to you. You can spot the
:16:30. > :16:36.risks as they are doing that. Thank you, Tom. He stares into the future
:16:37. > :16:39.and does not fail in the face of! This is the best advice to keep
:16:40. > :16:43.children safe online. Set boundaries, such as time limits, and
:16:44. > :16:51.teach your kids about the dangers of technology.
:16:52. > :16:58.Create a user account on the family computer with appropriate controls.
:16:59. > :17:09.That is all for this week. Keep up to date on the website.
:17:10. > :17:28.We are also on Twitter. Thanks for watching. See you next week.
:17:29. > :17:35.Good morning. This is BBC News. The headlines... A nurse appears in
:17:36. > :17:39.court charged with murdering three patients who were poisoned in a
:17:40. > :17:42.hospital in greater amount. 48`year`old Victorino Chua is also
:17:43. > :17:45.accused of grievous bodily harm and attempted poisoning.
:17:46. > :17:47.Gay