Ministers have also unveiled measures to increase competition in the banking sector, including enabling customers to switch current accounts within a week, but critics say this does not go far enough.

BBC: UK Politics

The information also shows that there were 179 applications from independent schools planning to switch over to the state sector and become free schools.

BBC: Free school applicants' religious affiliation revealed

One obvious way for firms in the power sector to reduce their emissions is to switch the type of energy they use, for example from inefficient coal-fired power stations to efficient gas stations.

BBC: Switching from high to low carbon energy is a challenge

In America and Britain the switch from DB to DC schemes in the private sector has left the responsibility with the individual worker, but employees have yet to rise to the challenge.

ECONOMIST: Falling short

Separate reforms to force millions of public sector workers to pay an additional 3.2% of salaries towards their pensions and to switch the uprating of pensions from RPI inflation to the normally lower CPI measure of inflation are expected to significantly reduce the long-term cost of public-sector pensions.

BBC: Civil service pensions 'still gold plated'