confederation

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS trusts, said health services were already subject a lot of oversight and regulation - and the prospect of "more league tables" would concern health leaders.

Graham Vidler, from the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents bus operators, tells us: "We accept that passengers face a mixed picture depending on where they live."

The Confederation of Passenger Transport said raising the cap from £2 has avoided travellers facing a "cliff edge" at the end of this year.

Instead it will be known as Place de l'Alliance des Etats du Sahel, after the country's new confederation with Burkina Faso and Mali.

The Holy Roman Empire was a loose confederation of territories that existed in central Europe from 962 to 1806.