Dear all,
A welcome back to the Weekly News after the summer break.
There are still a few tickets left for the FoB 75th Anniversary Dinner in London on 27th September. If you would like to book a ticket(s) please contact amy.yeates@fob.uk.com as soon as possible.
Have a good week.
Gordon Polson
Director – Federation of Bakers
CBI Economic Report: Labour market goes from strength to strength; inflation continues to bite into living standards; employment remains at a record high.
CPI inflation accelerated to a joint five-year high of 2.9% in August after having held at 2.6% for two consecutive months. The strongest contribution to inflation in August came from clothing and footwear prices, which rose at the fastest pace since 1989. The ONS suggested that fewer items were included in the summer sales season this year compared with 2016. In contrast, the largest downward contribution to inflation in August came from air fares, which rose at a slower pace than during last year’s summer holiday period.
At its September meeting, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.25%, with McCafferty and Saunders once again dissenting by calling to hike it to 0.50%. The committee were unanimous in voting for no change to the level of quantitative easing. Nevertheless, a majority of the committee believed that a rate rise may be necessary over the coming months in order to return inflation sustainably back to its 2.0% target.
The labour market tightened further in the three months to July, with the employment rate climbing to a new record high of 75.3% as the number in work rose by 181k (biggest increase seen since November 2015). Meanwhile, the number of unemployed fell by 75k, nudging down the joblessness rate to a fresh post-1975 low of 4.3%. Wage growth remained sluggish, however, with nominal pay rising just 2.1% year-on-year, which in real terms (adjusted for inflation) corresponds to a decline of 0.4%.
Industrial production matched consensus expectations by edging 0.2% higher in July, albeit easing from growth of 0.5% in June. The improvement was driven by a 0.5% rise in manufacturing output (which accounts for 70% of industrial production), marking the first expansion for the sector this year. Meanwhile, mining and quarrying output declined by 1.2% on the back of an outsized rise of 4.1% in June, when output was supported by a lack of seasonal maintenance work.
Construction output fell for the fourth consecutive month in July, dropping by 0.9% on the month. The decline was driven by a 1.4% drop in all new work, whereas repair and maintenance work was broadly stable. Additionally, quarterly data showed that new orders fell by 7.8% in Q2, to the lowest level in over three years. Construction firms reported falls in orders for new housing (-4.9%) and all other work (-9.0%).
Public Health England(PHE): PHE has published the first review of its sugar reduction and wider reformulation programme. The document provides an overview of activity PHE has undertaken between April and September 2017, following the publication of the March 2017 sugar reduction guidelines. It also contains some limited detail on future work activity including the March 2018 report and confirmation of the energy reduction work initial timeframe. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sugar-reduction-and-wider-reformulation-interim-review
Apprenticeship Survey: The Department for Education (DfE) is running a new apprenticeship funding survey to learn more about the views of employers, training providers, representative bodies and individuals to help shape the funding policy that is set from April 2018. The survey is intended to build an understanding of the impact the policy has had this year (so far) and what changes those involved might suggest for next year. A link to the survey can be found here https://fecompare.co.uk/latest-dfe-apprenticeships-funding-policy-survey-ends-3rd-oct-32-questions/ and the survey will close at 23.59 on Tuesday 3 October.
Migration Advisory Committee(MAC): The MAC, a non departmental public body who provides migration and labour market advice to the Home Office. The MAC has been commissioned by the Home Secretary to report on the impacts on the UK labour market of the UK’s exit from the European Union and how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. The MAC has produced a call for evidence which is available on the MAC website;https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-and-briefing-note-eea-workers-in-the-uk-labour-market The MAC needs to provide our final report by September 2018. The MAC will research and analyse the areas covered by the questions using all available data sources, using both internal and external analysts and expertise. The MAC are keen to engage with stakeholders within industries to ensure we understand their views and evidence in relation to this commission.
PHE Conference: Chief Executive of Public Health England Duncan Selbie, spoke about the connection between “health and wealth”, followed shortly by Minister for Public Health and Primary Care Steve Brine MP who announced new funding for research into humanitarian crises. He also said health inequalities are stubborn and the north/south divide is an unacceptable gap. In the session entitled “Working with the food industry to deliver public health benefit: sugar reduction and wider reformulation”, speakers included Surrey County Council, Greggs plc and Marks and Spencers who spoke in detail about their respective efforts to improve reformulate and provide healthier options for their customers.
World Cancer Research Fund Report on Diet and Colorectal Cancer: The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has published a report on Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Colorectal Cancer, which has looked at research worldwide covering over a quarter of a million people with bowel cancer. The report has found that eating around three servings of whole grains each day reduces risk of bowel cancer by 17%. This is the first time WCRF has specifically linked whole grain intake with lower cancer risk and adds to the evidence that high fibre foods are protective. The report also highlights risk factors, including being overweight, alcohol consumption, regular consumption of processed meat and eating over 500g of red meat a week. The WCRF estimates that about 45% per cent of bowel cancer cases could be prevented in the UK each year through healthy lifestyle changes.
| Health and Safety: |
| HSL: Hazardous Area Classification – Buxton, 19 Oct 2017
28-08-2017 04:40 PM BST This course is designed to provide delegates with the knowledge to carry out straightforward hazardous area classification in accordance with commonly used standards or to act as an intelligent customer when contracting others to deliver this role. HSL: Process and Fire Incidents – Buxton, 18-19 Oct 2017 28-08-2017 04:36 PM BST This two-day course is designed to introduce delegates to lessons learned from a number of significant or high profile incidents involving fires or chemical processes. HSL: DSEAR Compliance for Managers and Supervisors – Buxton, 19 Sept 2017 15-08-2017 02:52 PM BST This course explains the duties that DSEAR places on employers and the actions needed to comply with them. It focuses particularly on the assessment of risks and the application of controls to both minimise and mitigate those risks. |
| Still a few places left at the National Food and Drink Manufacturing conference organised by IOSH on behalf of the HSE National Forum |
| Keynote speaker Rory Underwood confirmed to speak at The national food and drink manufacturing health and safety conference 2017
There’s still time to book your place at this year’s National food and drink manufacturing health and safety conference held on 10-11 October, and listen to a variety of top industry professional speakers. Held at The Oxford Belfry, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 2JW, one key speaker has been confirmed as ex-England rugby international and former RAF jet pilot Rory Underwood, who will be using his experience of flight safety and playing top-flight professional rugby to provide a talk on behavioural-based safety. Rory, now Development Director at Alcumus, aims to provide advice for companies considering behaviour modification approaches to safety. So how did Rory move from top-flight rugby and flying, neither considered ‘safe’ practices, to a profession that’s primarily concerned with behavioural safety? Book your place to find out more. Book your place – bookings now open! To view the brochure, including full programme, booking form and conference fee information, and to book your place online, please visit the IOSH website. Alternatively, please contact the Bookings team on bookings@iosh.com or call +44 (0)116 257 3197 for further information. We hope that you can join us for what promises to be an exciting, stimulating and productive conference. Kind regards, John Boyle, Chair |