Today: Thursday 22nd March

Chancellor George Osborne and shadow chancellor Ed Balls reflect on yesterdays Budget announcement amid criticism of plans to freeze or scrap tax allowances for pensioners. Anti-terrorist police have spent a second night surrounding a flat where the man suspected of shooting dead seven people in Toulouse is refusing to give himself up. And also on the programme, is there a place for superstition and spirituality on hospital wards?

We are no longer providing clips of every part of the programme but you will be able to listen via the BBC iPlayer .

0615
Business news with Simon Jack on what the Budget means for business.

0650

Senior NHS managers in England have been warned they will have to find a further £20bn of savings as soon as the current spending round ends

in 2015. David Stout, deputy chief executive of NHS Confederation, reflects on the issues that this raises.

0709

As the dust settles on the chancellor's Budget announcement yesterday, Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, examines who the winners and losers are.

0712
The first national report on liver disease in England shows that deaths have risen by a quarter during the past eight years with alcohol being shown to be a major factor. Dr Julia Verne, director, South West Public Health Observatory and author of the report, outlines the main findings.

0718
Business news with Simon Jack.

0721
In Florida tonight, civil rights activists, including the Rev Al Sharpton, are planning to hold a rally in the town of Sanford, to draw attention to the case of an unarmed black teenager whose death at the hands of a Hispanic neighbourhood watch captain has triggered widespread outrage. The BBC's Paul Adams reports from Sanford on the case which has focused on two emotive issues in America - race and gun laws.

0725
Sports news with Jonathan Legard.

0731

The opposition has accused the chancellor of targeting the wrong people in yesterday's Budget announcement. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls gives his response to the measures announced which included cutting he top rate of income tax to 45p and a rise in stamp duty on homes costing £2m or more.

0737
Paper review.

0740

In the early 1970s, the Essex band Dr Feelgood were hailed as the saviours of rock'n'roll. Forty years on, their former lead guitarist and songwriter Wilko Johnson has an autobiography coming out and the band's early records are about to be rereleased. Music broadcaster Mark Coles popped round for a chat.

0746
Thought for the day with Bear Grylls, adventurer and Chief Scout.

0750

Pensioners have reacted angrily after the Budget included a so-called "granny tax" which will see personal allowances frozen for some and cut for others when they turn 65 after next April. Dr. Ros Altmann, director general of the Saga Group, and Juliet Samuel, chief reporter for the financial daily CityAM, discuss whether the Budget has been unfair to pensioners.

0810

Some of the headlines of yesterday's Budget included cutting the top rate of income tax to 45 pence, and a removal of age-related allowances and replaced with a single personal allowance for new pensioners from April 2013. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne reflects on the announcements made and political editor Nick Robinson gives his analysis.

0825
Sports news with Jonathan Legard.

0830

Pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline, is to build its first new factory in the UK for almost 40 years. The firm's chief executive, Sir Andrew Witty, explains why tax breaks in the Budget facilitated this.

0835

Business news with Simon Jack. Jas Purewal, a lawyer specialising in interactive entertainment, explains how the UK's film and gaming industries got a boost from yesterday's Budget.

0838
This year's Sport Relief begins tomorrow and a good example of the kind of project the charity supports is the Waterberg Welfare Society in the South African province of Limpopo which provides mobile HIV clinics, drugs and community education projects, to try to bring down the number of HIV infections. South Africa correspondent Karen Allen went to find out more about their work.

0844
As the NHS looks to find at least £20bn of savings between now and 2015, could the provision of chaplains be one area where the service could save money? Edward Presswood, a doctor of acute medicine based in North London, and Rev Debbie Hodge, chief officer of Multi Faith Group for Healthcare Chaplaincy, debate whether there is a place for spirituality on hospital wards.

0849

Has this Budget has given us a more regressive or progressive tax system?

Martin Wolf is chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, and Dr DeAnne Julius, chairman of think tank Chatham House, discuss whether the balance lies.

---

Get in touch with Today via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844.