Speeches by Grady.

“Thank you very much. That is enough from me, Dame Meg.”

“Briefly, you are just commencing that discussion, and it must therefore follow that you have not yet identified the outputs or how you will measure them, because you are still at the diagnosis and investigation stage.”

“But to be clear, there is a group of customers—we have heard evidence on this in previous inquiries—who will never in a month of Sundays get online. Some of them might well be people who are digitally confident and then become less digitally confident as they get older, as my father did, for instance. So it is about th…”

“I have a family member who works at Nationwide building society, and there is an account with Lloyds.”

“I was wondering whether, more generally, the market is competitive and functioning well. Is it functioning well if the outcome is that poorer people in effect—low-income households—pay a lot more for motor insurance? Is that a good, well-functioning outcome?”

“The motor taskforce says that the market is competitive and well-functioning, but is it functioning well for low-income households? According to research by Fairer Finance and Bristol University, they can end up paying almost £400 a year more. That is a significant poverty premium. Perhaps we can go to Ms Audhlam-Gardi…”

“In the interests of time, I wonder whether each of you could come back to the Committee in writing on this: what do you think the top five drivers have been of premium price inflation for motor insurance?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Mr Noakes?”

“Let me approach the question in a slightly different way, with reference to my seat. Virgin Money in Baillieston is keeping its branch open. I am disappointed that the Bank of Scotland is closing its branch in Garrowhill, but this points to a wider question. We have to accept that there is a cohort of customers who wil…”

“Does anyone have anything to add?”

“Mr Singh?”

“I welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to reducing Government debt, the 95,000 children in Scotland being lifted out of poverty and the revival of Glasgow’s military shipyards, where we will build Labour boats, which, unlike SNP boats, will work and have real windows. Does the Chancellor agree that it is a disgrace that…”

“I refer the House to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and the fact that I am chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Qatar. I thank the Prime Minister for his emphasis on compliance with the law. What discussions have the Government held with the Government of Qatar and other regiona…”

“Briefly, Sir Robert, is there anything you would change in the architecture of the political and parliamentary side and its interaction with the OBR, along the lines of what Mr Hughes has mentioned?”

“Dame Meg has mentioned, for instance, having a debate or statement in Parliament on the long-term report. Are there any other architectural changes you would suggest on the political side of the table in responding to the OBR’s longer-term projections?”

“To really come to the point, do you think that we as politicians need to do a bit more to face into the long-term challenges that Britain faces?”

“It is not an exact science. Vast amounts of it are contested and carry significant amounts of uncertainty—as the non-economist on the Committee, I feel entitled to say that. The idea that the OBR can somehow achieve perfection here is for the birds. Ultimately, would you say that we on this side of the table need to st…”

“Mr Hughes, thinking through this hearing and reflecting on your time at the OBR, the OBR is meant to be a technocratic, independent organisation that commands the confidence of us politicians and the public, but it has a very hard job—a job that I have sympathy with. You have limited headroom and high debt to GDP, so t…”

“Sir Robert, you are nodding. Briefly, do you agree with what Mr Hughes has said?”