Speeches by Glen.

“Who can help me understand a slightly complementary view to that among the witnesses this morning?”

“Can I come on to the decision about lowering the capital requirement from 14% of risk-weighted assets to 13%? I think there are two broad sets of views. There are those who ask where the benefit goes—to the banks and their shareholders or to the economy as a whole. There is also still significant dissent among many ban…”

“To them, it feels as though there will be a move forward in one area, but then, for example, Sam Woods did not include the exclusion of unencumbered gilts when looking at the leverage ratio denominator.”

“Can I ask about the gap between the 13% and the 15%? What accounts for that? There should be more latitude to do more borrowing, and they don’t.”

“Mr Kroszner, you were getting animated. Did you want to come in?”

“Before the hon. Lady makes her statement on Thursday, will she, when reflecting on the arrangement in Wiltshire that would embrace Wessex—although we have been told that that is not the Government’s view—address the prevailing concern that the people of rural Wiltshire will be considerably worse off without having the …”

“Chief Secretary, I can tell you that you go this way but once. You have an opportunity to tell this Committee today that you have personally reflected on the dynamics as they have worked through and you want to do something differently. You can assert that and we can collectively act on it.”

“In essence, respectfully, you are saying that you have got that and you understand the need, and you have put in a few changes to secure confidence about how money will be spent before you agree to it. But I put it to you that the evidence of recent history—and going back many, many generations—is that something is qui…”

“Do you think that the Treasury understands that different paradigm of decision making and that genre of technology?”

“I wish you well.”

“I understand that. What I am trying to get at, and the big question that the country wants answered, is this: how much do the Government think we need to spend to defend the country? At the moment it appears that it is 2.7% by 2029-30, and then 3% at some point, potentially as late as 2034. Is there any more specificit…”

“So what you are saying is that the additional 0.3% between the commitment made explicitly, by virtue of what is in the defence investment plan and all the capabilities set out, will mean an increase to 3% of GDP by 2030 at the spending review?”

“How much do we need on our defence?”

“Can we talk about the dynamic of the relationship again? Most people understand across Government that the job of the Treasury and the Chief Secretary is to control public spending and ensure that we get value for taxpayers’ money—that is how I interpret it. But people also understand that sometimes, in the nature of y…”

“Minister, I recognise your depiction of an improved relationship in recent weeks, and I note the joint visits that you have done. But presumably, representing the Ministry of Defence, you would still be concerned that the Treasury has not done any work to prepare for the 3.5% commitment, as per the NATO obligation. If …”

“I don’t know about that. The Government have typically framed their commitment on defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP. I think it is fair to say that they have said they will reach 2.7% by 2029-30. It is also true that the former Secretary of State, John Healey, resigned because he thought spending would need to…”

“I do not dispute that. I recognise that it is a significant addition, and you have said that a number of times. However, there is quite a big difference between an implied number from what you have set out as the collective view of Government, to be achieved by 2029-30, and where you would get to between this Parliamen…”

“I understand that; I have had some exposure to that, and I understand how difficult the decisions are. However, we have seen a very experienced and hugely respected Member of Parliament and Defence Secretary resigning an office that he had spent a very long time preparing for, presumably because he was not confident th…”

“I hear what you are saying. I must give Minister Pollard the opportunity to respond to the proposal by the Chair of the Committee on this joint mechanism to give—from the Ministry of Defence point of view, I would have thought—more opportunity to explain the evolving needs in the field, the evolving technologies that y…”

“I recognise that the Minister wants to come to what the Government are going to do, but does he not accept that the decisions already made in the last two years—with respect to the price of employment and the national living wage, the cost of employment with regard to legislation, and business rates—have depressed the …”