About the plan
As part of Helping Britain Prosper, we believe we have a responsibility to help address some of the social, economic and environmental challenges that the UK faces.
We manage this through our Helping Britain Prosper plan. Launched in 2014 and revised annually, the Plan takes us beyond business as usual and focuses on the areas in which we can make the biggest difference.
Our targets
We serve more than 26 million customers and more than 1 million businesses, but we want to go beyond business as usual and help address the social and economic issues that matter most to Britain – finding a home, saving for later life, supporting businesses, building digital skills, championing diversity, tackling social disadvantage, and sustainability.
Our targets are grouped in core themes, focusing on people, business, communities and the environment.
Plan Performance
In 2018 we achieved 20 of our 22 targets, including:
- Lending over £12.4 billion in lending to first time buyers
- Supporting businesses to start up and grow with a £3 billion increase in net lending to SME and Mid Market businesses
- Providing over 700,000 individuals, SMEs and charities with digital skills training
- Tackling social disadvantage across Britain by supporting over 3000 charities through the Group's independent charitable Foundations
- Championing Britain’s diversity – with 9.5% of Group roles held by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic colleagues and 35.3% of senior roles held by women
Being Responsible at our Core
"Operating responsibly is fundamental to everything we do. By staying true to our purpose of Helping Britain Prosper we can help Britain become a digitally enabled low carbon economy. Every colleague in every part of the Group has a role to play."
Sara Weller, Independent Director and Chairman of the Responsible Business Committee
