Speeches by Norman.

“In terms of any KPIs that have been published in relation to the scheme.”

“You are content that the procedure is still as robust, if not more robust, than it started out being.”

“That is very helpful. You talked about principal applicants, but what is the status of the non-principal applicants? How many are there and what timetable is associated with them?”

“Could you name some so that we have them on the record and we know which ones to look at and think about, and which you are thinking about?”

“It sounds like my caseload in my constituency.”

“Can you comment for a second, General Ben, on the composition of the last 16,000? Obviously, you could have all the tough nuts being left to the last minute, or they could have been cracked early and it could be relatively smooth sailing. How is that working?”

“You will have a sense, though, because you will have been sampling and you will know what the breakdown of application types is, won’t you?”

“Just to be clear, as an operational matter, there is no suggestion that any pressure is being applied to deny cases that would otherwise receive grants.”

“Stop for a second, Minister. I am talking to the major general because I want him to give me an operational answer to the question of what KPIs are not being met.”

“That would be very helpful. To pick up General Ben’s point, it would help us if you could comment privately on the wait for grant now, and the factors affecting that. To follow up on your point, Minister, are all aspects of the programme compliant with the KPIs that have been set?”

“Eight hundred to 1,000 is the kind of number you are gesturing to for the last six months, if you have done 5,000 in that period.”

“That is extremely helpful. The clarification there is that spring is actually spring—please inform the Treasury. Spring is spring; we like that very much. It will be March. One would have a worry that if you were operating at roughly 1,000 a month, it would take 16 months from now, and therefore well into the end of th…”

“You have been at 800 a month for the last six months.”

“By all means, come in after that. I just want to get a sense of what is not being met from an operational standpoint.”

“Mr Wilson, in view of what the Minister has just said about the generosity of the scheme and the availability of it now, compared with some of the alternatives, could you comment on the number you have given, which is that the remaining 17,000 applications will be processed by spring of next year? At the moment, how ma…”

“Sixteen thousand?”

“So the number has been revised down by 1,000?”

“Even if that was the rough, or even somewhat generous, interpretation of the last five months, you think it will be going much faster from now, and it has to in order to hit the March deadline? Witnesses indicated assent.”

“Will you write to us on the KPIs that are being missed at the moment and give us a sentence or two on why that is happening? The other question is, where you are missing them, is your strategy going to be to change the KPI or change the plan?”

“So we will get those in the next week or two, or whenever it is, and then you will write to us.”