The Independent Chief Inspector, David Bolt, is inviting suggestions by 16 March 2018 for his 2018 to 2019 Inspection Plan.

A new independent review into the prudential supervision of the Co-operative Bank between 2008 and 2013 has been announced by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen today (6 March 2018).

The new independent review follows today’s (6 March 2018) announcement by the Financial Conduct Authority that it has now concluded its enforcement investigations into the Co-op Bank and related individuals.

The independent review will look into the supervision of the Co-operative Bank during a significant period for the firm, including its withdrawal from the bidding process to purchase 632 bank branches from Lloyds Banking Group (known as “Project Verde”) in 2013, to understand what lessons can be learned.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury has approved the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) appointment of Mark Zelmer to carry out the Independent review. Mr Zelmer has over 30 years’ experience in financial services regulation and policy. He is a former Deputy Superintendent of the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada, and previously a senior official at the Bank of Canada, International Monetary Fund, and representative on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and Financial Stability Board.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen said:

We are committed to creating a stronger and safer banking system. A vital part of this is ensuring that our regulatory system can learn from past events. The launch of this independent review is a further demonstration of this commitment.

The government committed to undertake an independent investigation in 2013, once the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory action concluded. That regulatory action has now come to an end. The Review will look at the actions, policies and approach of the Financial Services Authority, and latterly the PRA, as the institutions with statutory responsibility for the prudential supervision of the Co-op Bank during the period in question. It will focus on the outstanding questions identified by the House of Commons Treasury Committee (TSC) in its 2014 report on Project Verde.

As recommended by the TSC, the review will have full access to all relevant documents and correspondence, including the record of government contacts concerning the Lloyds “Verde” bidding process. A detailed Direction has been laid in Parliament to initiate the Review and set out its scope and parameters.

On 21 February the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it would refer the merger for a phase 2 investigation unless Mole Valley offered acceptable proposals to address these concerns.

As the parties have not offered satisfactory undertakings, the CMA will now refer the merger.

A decision on the merger will be made by a group of independent panel members supported by a case team of CMA staff. The deadline for the final report is 20 August 2018.

Information relating to the investigation is available on the case page.

Major steps to cut people’s excessive calorie intake have been unveiled by Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), as part of the government’s strategy to cut childhood and adult obesity.

The package includes:

• new evidence highlighting overweight or obese boys and girls consume up to 500 and 290 calories too many each day respectively
• a challenge to the food industry to reduce calories in products consumed by families by 20% by 2024
• the launch of the latest One You campaign, encouraging adults to consume 400 calories at breakfast, and 600 for lunch and dinner. This comes as adults consume 200 to 300 calories in excess each day

Too many children and most adults are overweight or obese, suffering consequences from bullying and low self-esteem in childhood, to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers as adults. An obese parent is more likely to have an obese child, who in turn is more likely to grow up into an obese adult.

Obesity affects us all, as it is a burden on the NHS and local authorities. The NHS spends around £6 billion a year treating obesity-related conditions. Obesity-related health problems also keep people out of work, stifling their earnings and wider economic productivity.

The government’s challenge to the food industry is set out in Calorie reduction: the scope and ambition for action, published today, Tuesday 6 March 2018, by PHE. As with the sugar reduction programme, the industry has 3 ways to reduce calories:

• change the recipe of products
• reduce portion size
• encourage consumers to purchase lower calorie products

Categories of food covered by the programme include pizzas, ready meals, ready-made sandwiches, meat products and savoury snacks.

If the 20% target is met within 5 years, more than 35,000 premature deaths could be prevented and around £9 billion in NHS healthcare and social care costs could be saved over a 25 year period.

The report also includes new data on children’s daily calorie consumption. Depending on their age, overweight and obese boys consume between 140 to 500 calories too many each day and for girls, it is 160 to 290 when compared to those with healthy body weights. Adults consume on average 200 to 300 calories too many each day.

Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of PHE, said:

The simple truth is on average we need to eat less. Children and adults routinely eat too many calories and it’s why so many are overweight or obese.

Industry can help families by finding innovative ways to lower the calories in the food we all enjoy and promoting UK business leadership on the world stage in tackling obesity.

Steve Brine MP, Public Health and Social Care Minister, said:

There can be no doubt that obesity is now one of our greatest challenges – one that is fuelling an epidemic of preventable illnesses like type 2 diabetes and cancer. These not only shorten lives but put unsustainable pressure on our health service.

We have a responsibility to act, which is why we are supporting families to make the healthy choice. Our calorie reduction programme – the first of its kind from any country in the world – will continue to build on the progress of our world-leading childhood obesity plan, which has led to positive steps by industry.

The latest One You campaign aims to support people to be more calorie-aware when they are out and about with its simple tip 400-600-600. Aim for 400 calories at breakfast, and 600 for lunch and dinner. Major high street brands are partnering with PHE on the campaign, signposting to meals that meet the 400-600-600 tip. Total daily calorie intake recommendations remain at 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men.

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE, said:

It’s hard for people to make healthy food choices, whether for themselves or their families. That’s why we are challenging the food industry to take 20% of the calories out of everyday foods, building on their good work on salt and promising announcements on sugar.

We are also working through our campaign and its partners, to give the public the information they need to help make those choices easier.

The 20% reduction target is the result of analysis of the new calorie consumption data, experience of sugar and salt reduction programmes, and more than 20 meetings with the food industry and stakeholders.

The next step in the programme involves engagement with the whole food industry such as retailers, manufacturers, major restaurant, café, takeaway, and delivery companies, and health and charity sectors, to develop category guidelines. These will be published in mid-2019.

Background

For further information on the calorie reduction programme and One You nutrition campaign please contact:

Razeeb Ahasan 020 3682 0093 Jamie Mills 020 7654 8039

Mothers tend to their children at a UNICEF health clinic in Somalia supported by UK aid. Photo credit: UNICEF