Speeches by Glen.

“But if people are not already invested in the existing LISA, they will not have the option to have that savings vehicle, will they?”

“Can I focus on the withdrawal penalties? I believe that last year the Treasury took £75 million in withdrawal charges, which effectively tax the primary capital of young people. I assume that a Government like this would want to do the progressive and fair thing, so can we expect perhaps a bonus-only penalty? Would the…”

“Lastly, let me refer to the issue of the self-employed. The original design of the lifetime ISA was both as a product to save for a mortgage and then as something to be retained for supplementary savings. For the 4 million self-employed, who do not have auto-enrolment, the lifetime ISA provided a 25% bonus savings vehi…”

“I recognise the withdrawal penalties issue, but you are not prepared to say anything this morning on the cap, despite the clear evidence of what the average house price is in key areas like London. Surely it is now irresistible. The FSCS deposit limit increased to £120,000 just before Christmas, I think. That reflected…”

“Turning to the lifetime ISA replacement, I address these questions to the Economic Secretary. Given that the Government committed, in the Budget last year, to replace or refine the existing lifetime ISA, and given the latest UK house price index shows that the average price paid by a first-time buyer in London for a ho…”

“I am not qualified to make observations about the enduring value for money or effectiveness of Palantir, but I am concerned that Mandelson’s dynamics with every aspect of this Government have toxified the integrity of their processes. Unless the Minister can make absolutely clear what quiet, unspoken influences Mandels…”

“That is influencing by principles rather than fixed rules.”

“I have one further question, if I may. Given the organisational changes with the PSR moving into the FCA, how would you respond to the challenge that those supervisory approaches are different and that your coherence as a regulator in your own right will be compromised or there will be some dissonance that will be unhe…”

“Your candour is really appreciated. It is textbook for us on this Committee to have somebody before us who gives us such honest answers. Thank you for that.”

“Was the imperative for your fusion into the FCA, if we put it like that, the impression that somehow the PSR had become something that was not facilitating an economic good outcome? That was probably the motivation, from the way it was portrayed. How would you respond to that to the payment systems operators and the pe…”

“What people in the industry would possibly say is that, when you started, you were there to ensure that the payment system worked for everyone; you were an enabler. As the decade has progressed, instead of being a force for good, you have become something that is a policeman of behaviours. How would you want to charact…”

“Could we turn to supervision? You set up your supervision division two years ago. I believe you have been consulting on the approach to take since April 2024. Could you explain that interval from when you were started to 2024 and what is happening now with supervision, please?”

“Thank you, Mr Geale. The PSR was set up following the banking Act in 2013. Since 2015, when it was established, headcount has increased by 198% and expenditure by 116%. It is important at the start of this session that we understand what you think that has led to. What is the principal role that the PSR has played in t…”

“That would be an enhancement to the overall function of your unit within the FCA.”

“Several of my constituents in Salisbury have recently retired from the civil service. When they have contacted Capita, they have not been able to obtain their lump sums, so are getting into debt and have lost out on interest. Others have been cut off and ignored. Could we have a statement or a debate on this matter? It…”

“I am going to bring the others in, but I want to pivot, given time, into the broader issue of financial education. I failed, as Economic Secretary, to persuade my colleagues in Government to do anything to extend the obligations on financial education. This Government have brought that in, but to get that embedded into…”

“The next topic is looking at financial education and capability. The FCA has the Mills review, which was launched last month. That is looking at AI’s impact on retail finance. We would acknowledge that hyper-personalisation could lead to hyper-exclusion, if those algorithms almost verify cost to serve, and so on. What …”

“Is that how efficient they are at referring to people who can help?”

“We know that there is a counter-argument to this. The banks would say, “We are under all these different obligations.” The Government will be slightly sensitive to this, optically, in terms of adding in more bureaucracy, cost and so on. How would you counter that to say that these interventions would not be prohibitive…”

“Can we go back to the issue of the fair banking Act? The argument is that the consumer duty that the FCA oversees protects existing customers but does not deal with those who are excluded and unable to become customers. In our earlier conversation, we established that the strategy does not do the analysis of the gap, i…”