Speeches by Reynolds.

“The position in the UK has not changed. The previous Government and the current Government support the Bank of England’s plans to develop a central bank digital currency. I have my own views about crypto and the issues surrounding that, but maybe that is an issue for another day, if that is okay.”

“I have not recused myself from any issues in this role or the previous role, for I have no ongoing financial interest.”

“The essential principle is that only if you have an ongoing financial interest should you recuse yourself from policy decisions. I have no ongoing financial interest at TheCityUK. They employed me before my election, I resigned my position at TheCityUK upon my election, and therefore I have not recused myself on any po…”

“Yes. There is the foreign influence registration scheme, which was an ongoing discussion in the previous Government, and it is all about the trade-offs and balance between national security and economic growth. That is at the heart of it, but let me just say that this was not about Chinese activity here; it was about f…”

“Thank you for the opportunity to clear this up. The first thing to say is do not believe everything you read in the newspapers. I did not represent Chinese business and I have never represented the Chinese Government. I was representing UK businesses and UK-based financial services. The work that I did in the City befo…”

“We are very interested in international comparisons but there is a limit to how relevant they are, because obviously we have our own individual circumstances. I know that in Sweden they were thinking of moving to a cashless society; there was a sense that they went too quickly and then had to rewind. That is why I was …”

“As I said, the focus of the Government is on the access to cash regime, which does relate to the acceptance of cash because, if businesses do not have places to go to deposit cash, that is when they stop accepting cash. We are absolutely determined to ensure that banking hubs and deposit machines are available to small…”

“Again, I read the oral evidence given on this, but I do not really know what the definition of “essential services” is. Where does it start and where does it end? It seems like you have also received evidence around that. As I said previously, we do not have plans to compel business. It would be very difficult to come …”

“As I said previously, I read the public oral evidence you got from the representatives of victims-survivors, and it was very moving. It is something that we will look at carefully. We are absolutely committed to rooting out economic abuse, but we know it is a big problem and my heart really goes out to the women in tho…”

“We have not done an impact assessment of a scenario that we are not planning for, because, as I have said, the focus has been on the access to cash regime. We cannot, on the one hand, have our focus on the access to cash regime and then do a risk assessment of a cashless society. I do not think we are anywhere near hav…”

“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.”