Speeches by Maynard.

“But that is relevant, because that is where the money came from.”

“There is ’23 and ’25.”

“Off gas transmission of €430 million.”

“But where does the gas come from?”

“So that is undertakings up there, and your obligations down here at the Ofcom level.”

“The undertakings, yes.”

“Many people say that Royal Mail is set up to fail. If you keep failing, you can keep banging on Ofcom’s door and asking for a reduced USO, as has been the case for the last 10 years. Meanwhile, GLS, your parcels business, grows, and that is what is going to continue. You are a capitalist. Those incentives seem to be co…”

“If EP Group fails and breaches its obligations, what are you going to do about it?”

“Yes, so what if they fail on those? Frankly, £37 million over three years—it is a big business—is pretty minor; that is a little over £10 million a year. Does that really change anything? I don’t think it does.”

“Sorry, are you saying that the incentives are aligned?”

“Good afternoon; thanks for coming in. To what extent have you seen a change since EP took over last April? Have you seen any particular changes linked to that?”

“Yes. Just what undertakings did EP give your members when the takeover was completed, and has it honoured those commitments?”

“Do you agree that Křetínský and IDS make more money if the USO is loosened?”

“I beg to differ, but we will pass on that. That business has a pipeline at the centre of it, but there is distribution and storage off it.”

“Okay. I would say that, if the conditions are looser, it is easier to make money, because you have to do less work to meet those conditions. Therefore, the incentives do not add up. You mentioned that this may not be a silver bullet. We are worried that we are back here again and again, as we have been for the past dec…”

“It is flowing east to west.”

“What comfort can you give us that we will not just be in a cycle—or continue the cycle we are already in—where there is a weaker and weaker USO?”

“Now or historically?”

“I completely agree. It sends the wrong message and puts in place the wrong incentives, and that is a real problem. Ministers will have seen the analysis produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility in response to the former Lib Dem Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, highlighting the flaws in the Government’s claim that…”

“The Liberal Democrats have been clear throughout the Bill’s stages that we think the Government would be misguided to make this change. While it may raise some tax revenue in the medium term, in the longer term it discourages pension saving. It also puts an extra cost and admin burden on small businesses at the worst p…”