GOODLUZ / SHUTTERSTOCK News Financial services you can bank on Putting consumers in the picture Images of sugar and salt on packaging will leave consumers in no doubt about the contents of the food they are eating, according to plans being drafted by the Department of Health (DoH). In the wake of the UKs vote, in June, to leave the European Union, officials at the DoH believe they will have greater flexibility about what information should be presented on packaged food, and how it should be displayed. A report in The Telegraph says that the department feels using visual images such as spoonsful of sugar and salt will be far easier for people to understand than the current traffic light system. This uses the colours red, amber and green to denote high, medium and low levels of sugar, salt and fat in food. ONE PHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK More control over personal finances, the ability to switch accounts easily, and better deals for overdraft users are just some of the measures that promise to transform banking in the future. Reforms to push high street banks to work harder for their customers and to use technology to offer a more efficient service are being recommended by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In a recently published report, the CMA retail banking market investigation has concluded that older and larger banks do not compete hard enough for customers business, while newer banks find it difficult to grow in the current environment. To remedy the situation, the authority is implementing changes that focus on technological advances and creating a more level playing field, so new entrants and smaller banks can compete more fairly with established ones. The reforms will enable customers to take greater control of their finances via Open Banking. Personal customers and small businesses can share their data securely with other banks and third parties, allowing them to manage cash flow, avoid overdraft charges and compare products to meet their requirements. Through the use of innovative apps, customers will be able to use Open Banking to tailor services to their individual needs. Transparency is another core quality of the reforms. Banks will be required to publish objective information on the quality of their services, allowing a customer to see how their organisation shapes up. The CMA is introducing further measures to make it easier for customers to search for, and switch to, different providers. At the moment, only three per cent of personal customers and four per cent of business clients switch banks in any year, despite an average saving of 92 per year by doing so. Larger savings will be available for overdraft users for example, personal customers who are overdrawn for one or two weeks every month could save 180 per year on average. Caps on unarranged overdraft fees will also be applied, offering bigsavings for those who go overdrawn without their banks authorisation which is around 25 per cent of personal current account customers, and small businesses. The low-down on legal highs Couple gets fingers burned after tip-off A tip-off to Gloucestershire Trading Standards in 2015 has led to the downfall of a couple dealing in illicit tobacco goods. Harold and Susan Bennett, aged 73 and 54 respectively, from Coleford, Gloucestershire, both pleaded guilty to three offences under the Trademarks Act 1994 and a further offence under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. Gloucestershire Trading Standards obtained a warrant to enter their home, along with officers from HM Revenue and Customs and the police. More than 100kg of tobacco and 750 packs of 20 cigarettes were discovered on the premises. The estimated street value of the seized tobacco and cigarettes was more than 22,000 and the amount of duty evaded was more than 20,000. As well as the tobacco items seized, more than 72,000 in cash was confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Legal highs with a street value of 170,000 have been destroyed after a successful joint operation between West Yorkshire Trading Standards (WYTS), Leeds Neighbourhood Policing Scheme (LNPS) and the police. WYTS was alerted to the sale of legal highs, or psychoactive substances, by the LNPS, which discovered that illegal substances were being sold at a number of outlets around the area. Trading standards officers, along with the police, visited four premises Redeye Headshop, Dr Hermans, Rudeboy and High Rollaz where they discovered legal highs were being sold. All four outlets were given a warning. Legal highs are substances that produce the same, or similar, effects asdrugs such as cocaine and ecstasy, but they are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act. However, it is considered illegal under current medicines legislation to sell, supply or advertise them for human consumption. To get around this, sellers refer to these substances as research chemicals, plant food, bath crystals or pond cleaner. The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 came into force on 26 May, making it illegal to produce, supply, import or export any psychoactive substance that is likely to be used to get high. The Act aims to stop the sale and importation of psychoactive substances by making supply and importation illegal including website sales. Returning to the shops a month later, officers found that legal highs were still on sale. So trading standards issued a suspension notice and removed more than 16,000 packs, with samples of each brand sent off foranalysis. The results showed that many of the substances had anaesthetic effects, some contained serious toxicity levels and would have hallucinogenic effects on users while others consisted of synthetic cannabinoids that act like, and have a similar effect as, cannabis. As a result of the investigation, WYTS was granted two forfeiture orders by Leeds Magistrates Court for the destruction of legal highs from High Rollaz and Red Eye. The legal representative for Dr Hermans and Rudeboy objected and the case was adjourned. That objection was later withdrawn and WYTS was granted the remaining two forfeiture orders and full costs of 19,154 from all four shops.