Speeches by McEvoy.

“It is to the Governor, as well as to Ms Greene, just because you mentioned it. I am just really keen to hear what all of you think are the factors causing this uncertainty around what is going on.”

“Is it real or is it a data analysis problem? We had witnesses from the ONS, and they were sure that there was a productivity problem. That is fair, isn’t it, Chair? They gave us their absolute confidence that the data that they are collecting is correct. Are there any other factors that could be causing this in the dat…”

“The measurements worked before 2019 and we were doing all right then. We have seen the hit from the pandemic, but, if we were using those measurements again, it does not really explain the sole reason for the lack of productivity.”

“What is the average first-time deposit in the UK as a whole, rather than in London and the south-east?”

“I am sorry to bring us back to this so late in the day. On the deposits, from those of you who have customers using these products, how many people are using their savings in the LISA for 100% of their deposit?”

“Just so that I can understand, is it a small part of the deposit, and the majority is coming from the bank of mum and dad, or is it the majority of the deposit, and a small part is coming from an auntie or something?”

“Zoopla says that the average UK deposit is £34,000, but we can pick up the data after.”

“I am just interested as to whether it is the majority chunk.”

“Is this working for people without the bank of mum and dad, basically?”

“On that point about the use of the product as it is now, we could split the product and accept that it is being used for first-time buyers—that is brilliant—but reform the second use of the product and target it specifically to self-employed people who are basic rate taxpayers. In those circumstances, where we were tar…”

“Sorry, I think that your evidence said that one in five self-employed people are saving for a pension.”

“Ms Olufunwa, in your experience with Hoops, do you have many self-employed people coming in who are on the basic tax rate? Do you think it would be a suitable product for them as a pension alternative? What is your view, given your stance at the beginning, for this group specifically?”

“On that point, would you remove the cash element? It is a stocks and shares ISA or a cash ISA. If it was for the long-term saving, would you remove the cash element, which is, as we have outlined, suitable for your first-time buyers, but not necessarily for a 30-year long-term savings product? If you remove that, in th…”

“I take that point, Mr Lewis, because I share your ambition for clear communications and correspondence with the public. If it is a communication issue and you feel like people would not understand the new product, but with this one in five stat of self-employed people saving for a pension, the current status quo is not…”

“The argument should be that the Government should be a trusted person to help you.”

“Yes, I know, but in an ideal world that would be a suitable Government product. Q60            John Glen: Mr Lewis, you probably have more influence over most people than the Government in this domain, but there is the danger that something goes wrong with that adv…”

“That is the question that I was going to ask, but I just want to probe a bit further. This product can be a huge success for younger people using it to get on to the property ladder, and you are all passionate about that. That is brilliant. Surely, once they have their foot in the door into savings, we want to keep the…”

“Ms Harrison, could you give us a bit more detail on the percentage of deposits that people who are using this ISA are taking out? Sorry, I will rephrase that. Are we talking about 5% or 10% deposits when we are looking at the products that your customers are mostly using?”

“I am just slightly concerned about raising it to £500,000 for a first-time home. The deposit required for that, for a couple, is huge, even at 5%. I am not giving financial advice.”

“What is the average first-time deposit in the UK as a whole, rather than in London and the south-east?”