Speeches by Glen.

“Since 9 February, I have been a non-executive director of Open Banking Ltd.”

“Mr Singh, how would you respond to that?”

“What about the issue of the opt-out or opt-in, in terms of savings from payroll? I understand that both the strategy and Nest Insight have highlighted that opt-out payroll savings are the gold standard, but currently there is a reliance on a complex regulatory workaround. As representatives of some of our largest banks…”

“So you think you can operationalise at scale across the sector pathways of referrals to credit unions and others. Is that a reasonable expectation to have?”

“Before I ask my question, Chair, let me say that I neglected to declare that I am a member of the Financial Inclusion Commission and I co-chair the APPG on financial education for young people—sorry about that. Can I turn to the issue of support for savings and what is going on? If we look at the strategy, it focuses o…”

“I think most people watching would understand that you have to price risk. In previous sessions, your representatives and peers talked about how AI and machine learning are being used in pricing and underwriting, with some controls, such as human, in the loop and pricing ethics oversight. However, there remains an anxi…”

“This is always the argument, isn’t it? It is always about the long-term savings on pensions versus having a bit of resilience to avoid high-cost, unaffordable credit. Do the Government not just need to bite the bullet where previous Governments have perhaps failed to, and create a clear pathway toward people having a s…”

“It seems like an obvious solution, though. Why was it not progressed?”

“To those of us who have been looking at this area for several years and might be a bit cynical about the speed of progress, what encouragement could you give us for this Government’s approach and strategy in this specific area?”

“Mr Noakes, do you have anything to add on that subject?”

“In principle, going back to the auto-enrolment of contents insurance, it is the obvious solution. It does not cost very much, because the housing association covers the building. If the insurers are prepared to offer the product, there must be a disconnect. I recognise that you do not want to reveal what is going on in…”

“Finally, do you think there is a cultural problem in the UK? Ireland has quite a distinct culture that has allowed credit unions to develop in that way. Do you think the United Kingdom will be able to embrace that? We have seen a consolidation and a reduced number of credit unions, but what evidence do you see that sug…”

“Can I address the Chair’s example? I seem to remember that in previous sessions, one of the issues was whether a housing association could put together collective insurance for multiple residents and almost auto-enrol people into it. One of the issues was the responsibility that would then apparently fall to that housi…”

“Yes, I am.”

“Thank you for chairing this debate, Sir Roger. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), who for 34 years has made such an enormous contribution in this place. When he set up the Centre for Social Justice, he was determined to look at the deeper causes of social p…”

“Undoubtedly, every Government deals with different challenges, and I note that the Chancellor did not mention the challenge of covid in the last period of government. When I was in the Treasury, I did everything I could to support businesses with bounce back loans, and to support our public services, but clearly, covid…”

“Well!”

“I think we have done it to death.”

“Thank you. I think I have taken enough of your time.”

“And not acted upon? Richard Hughes And not acted upon—and then observing the consequences for the fiscal situation in which we find ourselves. The more we can do not just to focus on the central forecast over the medium term, but on the pressures on the public finances of the long term and the risks around those scenar…”