The report from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), co-chaired with Diabetes UK, suggests that a diet lower in carbohydrates is an effective option up to 6 months for adults living with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity.

The report is based on a robust assessment of existing evidence around weight change, blood sugar management, blood fats and medication use.

SACN concludes that for adults living with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity, there are beneficial effects of a lower carbohydrate diet for up to 6 months for some of the outcomes considered, including improving blood sugar management.

People on lower carbohydrate diets lost more weight than those on higher carbohydrate diets in the first 3 months but not after, so it’s unclear if the benefits of a lower carbohydrate diet are due to this early weight loss.

Overall, the quality of the evidence wasn’t strong enough to recommend a lower carbohydrate diet for longer than 6 months.

Douglas Twenefour, co-chair of the joint working group and Deputy Head of Care of Diabetes UK, said:

We know that for most people with type 2 diabetes, managing their weight is key to managing their condition.

Health professionals should support any evidence-based dietary approach that helps achieve long-term weight reduction, and this can include a lower carbohydrate diet.

It is vital that people get the support of their healthcare team, so that any impact on diabetes management or medications can be closely monitored.

Dr Alison Tedstone, Chief Nutritionist at PHE, said:

SACN and Diabetes UK have thoroughly analysed the evidence around this complex issue.

It’s not clear whether a lower carbohydrate diet is effective in the longer term. We also don’t know whether it would work for all adults living with type 2 diabetes, and not just those living with overweight or obesity.

Adults living with type 2 diabetes choosing a lower carbohydrate diet should aim to include wholegrain or higher fibre foods, a variety of fruits and vegetables and limit saturated fats.

In the short-term studies, reported diets were classed as lower-carbohydrate if they were made up of around 37% carbohydrates, compared to 50% for higher carbohydrate diets.

The Commission has also appointed two new trustees to run the charity.

The charity’s aims are to provide education and training on the care and welfare of equine animals, as well as to prevent and relieve their suffering.

The charity was removed from the Register in 2013 after it was found to be inactive; the trustees had failed to file any annual returns, had not responded to the Commission’s attempts to contact them and there had been no transactions in or out of the charity’s bank account since January 2015.

The Commission launched its statutory inquiry into The National Equine Training Trust in April 2020, after discovering that the charity still owned a piece of land in Sevenoaks, Kent, registered with HM Land Registry as the Gwendoline Walker Donkey Centre.

The Commission was alerted to this after a neighbour of the property, who claimed to have been using the land for several years, filed an adverse possession claim to take ownership of the land. The trustees had not responded to these proceedings.

The Commission therefore took action to intervene in the proceedings to protect the land that belonged to the charity. As a result, the possession claim was struck out, ensuring the land remained in the charity’s possession.

The Commission also exercised its powers to remove the remaining inactive trustees. The inquiry concluded that they had mismanaged the charity by failing to manage its property responsibly. To place the charity on secure footing into the future, the Commission appointed two new trustees in their place, who have since recruited three further trustees. Following its intervention to ensure the administration of the charity is properly taken forward, the Commission re-instated the charity onto the Register on 15 March 2021.

Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations at the Charity Commission said:

This case serves as a reminder that good governance is not a bureaucratic detail – it underpins the delivery of a charity’s purposes to the high standards expected by the public – and without it, in this case, land and assets belonging the charity were almost lost. Trustees must properly manage their charity’s assets and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect them.

Our intervention has been crucial in enabling The National Equine Training Trust to get up and running again. We took action to protect the charity’s land and assets so it could again deliver on its charitable purposes. I hope, with new trustees in place, this charity will be able to again provide support to equine animals and inspire the trust of the communities it was set up to help.

Read the full report of the inquiry into The National Equine Training Trust.

Ends

1. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.

Some cars have been rarely used in recent months, so it’s essential to make sure they’re fit for purpose. You may also feel out of practice if you haven’t driven recently.

Any vehicle that hasn’t been on the road for some time will need a thorough check to ensure it is roadworthy and safe and now is a good time to give your car a spring clean and make sure it’s ready.

And with Highways England lifting almost 900 miles of roadworks this bank holiday, meaning 98 per cent of our network will be free from roadworks, the message is plan ahead and carry out some basic vehicle checks before setting off.

Dave, who appears in the Highways England video below, said:

If you haven’t driven for a while due to lockdown, you might feel a bit strange getting back behind the wheel.

So it’s really important that you spend some time carrying out a few simple checks to ensure your vehicle is roadworthy before setting off on your journey.

Checking your tyres, oil, screenwash, lights and fuel doesn’t take long – but it will help keep you and your loved ones safe.

What to do in the event of a breakdown

Here are some simple regular car checks that drivers can do to help avoid breakdowns:

• Check tyres: prior to setting off on a long/significant journey, check your tyre pressures are suitable for the load and the condition of your tyres, including the spare. Look out for cuts or wear and make sure that you change your tyres at 2mm because while tyres should have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm, which is the legal limit., changing them ahead of that point is always good practice.

• Check engine oil: use your dipstick to check oil regularly and before any long journey, and top up if needed. Take your car back to the garage if you’re topping up more than usual.

• Check water: to ensure you have good visibility, always keep your screen wash topped up so you can clear debris or dirt off your windscreen.

• Check lights: if your indicators, hazard lights, headlights, fog lights, reverse lights or brake lights are not functioning properly, you are putting yourself and your family at risk. In addition, light malfunctions can be a reason for your vehicle to fail its MOT.

• Check fuel: before setting out, check your fuel levels and make sure you have enough to get to your destination.

Four million journeys are made every day on the country’s busiest roads – motorways and major A-roads – and most are incident-free. But around 600 journeys per day involve a breakdown, and when you are on a busy motorway that can be frightening.

In 2019 there were almost 230,000 reported breakdowns across the Highways England network including around 207,500 on motorways. In the 12 months from June 2019, around 40,000 breakdowns were recorded as being due to tyre issues while more than 6,000 incidents were a result of vehicles running out of fuel.

To help people understand what to do in the event of an unexpected vehicle breakdown, Highways England recently launched a multi-million-pound public information drive, giving motorists clear advice about what to do in an emergency.

The Go Left campaign has been backed by leading road safety organisations.

The advice to drivers who experience a problem with their vehicle is to leave the motorway if possible. But if that is not possible, Highways England recommends the following:

Go left

• Put your left indicator on and move into an emergency area, onto a hard shoulder, motorway service area, left-hand verge or A-road lay-by
• Switch your hazard warning lights on, even during the day. If it’s dark, use side lights and in poor visibility use fog lights as well
• On a motorway without a hard shoulder, it should be possible for most vehicles experiencing a problem to reach an emergency area. These are regularly spaced and are marked by a clearly visible orange road surface and blue signs featuring an orange SOS telephone symbol

Get safe

• If it is safe to do so, and you can get out with any passengers, exit your vehicle on the side furthest from traffic. If it is not safe to do so, stay in your vehicle and wait for help
• Keep well away from moving traffic and your own vehicle. Get behind a safety barrier where there is one, and where it is safe to do so. If you’re on a verge, be aware of any unseen hazards such as uneven ground or debris

Get help

• Contact Highways England on 0300 123 5000 and then a breakdown recovery provider
• If you are unable to exit your vehicle and get to a safe place, have stopped in a live traffic lane or feel your life is in danger, stay in your vehicle with your seatbelts and hazard lights on and call 999 immediately

Highways England’s customer contact centre has people on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help. Drivers should keep the Highways England number – 0300 123 5000 – in their phones in case of emergency.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.