Speeches by Reynolds.

“But the ACS also said that their members do not have any plans to change that in the coming years.”

“We are not in a cashless society.”

“Indeed, which is why, as I have said, we have no plans to compel small or large businesses to accept cash. I am sure we will come on to this too, because there are obviously fees with regard to card payments as well, which I am sure we will discuss.”

“Yes, absolutely. You have highlighted a couple of those things already, but I am very keen to work with the banks to ensure that they are taking practical measures to help people. We have already seen with victims-survivors that many banks provide those safe spaces for people. We want the best practice to be the leadin…”

“No. That is not what we are saying. We are saying that businesses should have the flexibility to offer the choice in payments that they think their customers need. We are not minded and do not have any plans to regulate or to force business to accept cash. We know that there are many businesses that still do. I come ba…”

“We need to look at the financial guardianship. My brother-in-law is in a similar situation, by the way. We therefore need to look at the rules around what the carers and guardians of people with learning disabilities can and cannot do. It seems to me very restrictive that a coffee cannot be bought with a card and then …”

“Our solution to that, through the financial inclusion work that we are doing, is to try to tackle digital exclusion. As I say, I was encouraged by the testimony from the Association of Convenience Stores that the vast majority of their members accept cash and they do not have any plans in the future to change that.”

“That is a good question. There is obviously a big difference between big and small business. I know there is some discussion among you as to what you want to do in terms of recommending to the Government. When you send your report to us, we will consider it in detail, but we have no plans to regulate businesses, big or…”

“I know that you took some evidence in private, but I also did read the oral evidence that was given in public from the representatives of victims-survivors. It was pretty difficult to read. Tackling economic abuse is a priority for the Government. That is why we have an ambitious access to cash regime. That is not just…”

“I am happy to do that.”

“We are all impatient for change, Mr Grady. I have not yet chaired this group because obviously I have only just come into post. That is something that I will have to discuss with the committee, but in a way, although it would be good to have recommendations and to make progress, this will be an ongoing issue, because—a…”

“We are at the very early stages of the journey. The first meeting—and obviously this was chaired by my predecessor—took place late last year.”

“As a Minister I am always really happy to learn from what others are doing internationally. Actually, in some of these emerging economies, they are stealing a charge on us, because they are almost taking a digital-first approach. They are starting from a position where nobody has a fixed landline because they have neve…”

“Yes, indeed.”

“The financial inclusion strategy is going to look at all of those vulnerable groups and take their needs into account. I am at the early stages of this; it was obviously launched under my predecessor, but it was a commitment that the Labour party made in the “Financing Growth” paper that we put out in February last yea…”

“Just to reassure you, we are looking at this in our new financial inclusion strategy. We have a committee set up to do this, and we have various sub-committees within the committee. The main focus of that will be on digital inclusion. How can we help the digitally excluded join the rest of us, frankly, because the vast…”

“Let me just say something about your first question, if that is okay, just to add to what Anna said. We have a world‑leading financial services sector, and the role of innovation and technology is absolutely central to its success. Fintech—both in terms of some of the challenger banks that we have seen and other…”

“That is a good question. There are already strict rules applied to the 10% that already have the flexibility to do this. As I understand it, that should be used for investment in the company, but I would have to go back specifically to look at whether there is any differentiation there. I would hope that what you have …”

“No.”

“Let me just say something about the announcement before I come to your question. This is about levelling the playing field. At the moment, 10% of defined benefit schemes can, if the trustees judge it in their members’ interest, release some of this surplus, which employers can then use, either to invest in their compan…”