Speeches by Glen.

“Consumer organisations would perhaps say that, if poorly evidenced claims are made, that might say something about the individual’s circumstances and capacity to make a claim. How would you avoid the most vulnerable in society being essentially frozen out from making a legitimate claim from a position of less awareness…”

“Can I just follow up on AI? Some would say that AI should be used to make decisions and that it could be more accurate than human decision-making. You were very careful to say, “AI does not make decisions”, but can you see a world where that would be appropriate, given the way that technology is improving and the fact …”

“All I would say is that the Chancellor made a speech yesterday where she spoke a lot about AI and the importance to the Government’s growth initiative. Everyone would understand the point that you have just made, but there is a point about AI taking you to that narrow point where humans intervene to improve the efficie…”

“I want to try to get to the heart of this issue of what will be perceived as a trade-off between things that industry will welcome, because they are more efficient, and consumers will fear because their protections are less. I see that there is a quote from Simon Morris from CMS in the FT today, where he says, “The omb…”

“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I share the concern of many on the Opposition Benches about the national insurance increase, but I am particularly concerned by what is happening with graduate unemployment, which we have seen increase by 46% over the past six years. I draw …”

“I want to take us back to where the OBR is now. Last week it said to us that a 4.4% real-terms cut to unprotected Departments would be needed. It mentioned a £13 billion gap by 2029-30. As we have discussed, the Government are obliged to put all that in there, per Government policy. In truth that is not reality, becaus…”

“The Chancellor hinted at that. The mechanics of the state in delivering a politician's intention is quite an important point but it does not get much airing. Understandably, all politicians are rightly accountable but how to deliver it efficiently does not get much scrutiny. Where do we go to scrutinise this meaningful…”

“That is an interesting observation but where we are now, it is not a real choice, is it? It is an historical and academic analysis, but it does not help us make choices at this point.”

“Ms Curtice, I want to briefly come back on what you said about better targeting than the last time we did some sort of energy support. My recollection is that there were some significant constraints around data points. What do you perceive has been enhanced over the last four years? I do not think any of us would want …”

“Do you mean against the OBR framework for the next three years?”

“It is exactly that short-term/long-term focus that Mr Jessop might like to comment on in terms of a refined role for the OBR in this area.”

“How do you fix this, Mr Jessop?”

“How do you avoid a situation such as occurred last week, when the Chancellor came before us and said that there had been no negative scoring of the Employment Act? Now the OBR would say that it had not finished all the consultations on how the Act would play out but essentially, because of the way it is configured at t…”

“In reality, that does not happen though; if the Chancellor cannot get through the OBR and meet the rules, she knows that politically it is pretty damaging. In effect therefore, even though we like to say that the Chancellor has a choice, she knows that, given what happened in 2022, the OBR is essentially a sovereign ar…”

“I have a brief question. Paul Johnson at the IFS had a very prominent role in our national life and still does. He was pretty direct about all the manifestos going into the 2024 election; he thought they made very little difference either to voting intentions or appreciation of the factors involved. Does that suggest t…”

“Do you think that if the OBR did this work it would have more authority in terms of its impact on people who commentate?”

“I would like to talk about how the OBR treat supply-side measures, and the dynamic between the Treasury and the OBR. I was briefly Chief Secretary; in that year, I had the impression that there was a cat and mouse dynamic between the OBR and the Treasury. Jeremy Hunt, who was Chancellor at the time, wanted the OBR to p…”

“The critical element is that this includes plans with a medium or long-term gain.”

“The Secretary of State is a former distinguished Treasury Minister. Government is about taking decisions when things change. It is welcome that the Chancellor has addressed the heating oil crisis, but what will the Secretary of State do to make the Chancellor come to terms with the changes over the last few weeks, and …”

“Of course, nobody would expect the Government to contravene the indications of the Metropolitan police by publishing documents, but most people would expect that the first step for somebody applying for such an important job—the most senior diplomatic post—is to submit a declaration of interests. It is unclear whether …”