Speeches by Grady.

“On that point, it would be helpful if you followed up in writing—I’m sorry I’m dishing out homework. On insurance generally and people becoming uninsurable because insurance is more data rich, does that take you to the point where you feel there should be some sort of basic insurance product that people can access in t…”

“Ms Rennie raised the question of the independence of the FOS and the chair, so I am picking up concerns about the strength of the chair’s independence. On the proposal to give the chair more independence and for the chair to be demonstrably independent, what would you do? Do you think it is a good idea that this Commit…”

“Thank you. We will move on to insurance. I do not know who wants to go first in outlining briefly where they see the main harms in the insurance market to consumers at the moment.”

“So we will never go below that floor of the risk-free rate.”

“If the cost of Government debt increases, then people will pay more for infrastructure, so that is why we must manage our public finances carefully.”

“I want to unpick the transmission mechanism between the higher cost of Government debt and the cost of infrastructure; you can keep me right, Mr Vickerstaff. The first premise is that if it is on the public sector balance sheet, the higher cost of Government borrowing increases the cost of the project. If it is private…”

“Yes. What this brings us to is that a 10-year plan is not written in stone; it depends on political consensus. Is that one of the big challenges we face, which Mr Glen’s question takes us to?”

“The long-term strength of the economy depends on long-term investment in the UK. UK growth companies still struggle for capital, while UK savers’ money flows to trackers, which are concentrated on a small number of US stocks. That is bad news for our future. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has made brilliant progre…”

“Briefly, if I was a taxpayer and I heard these things that you are asking, I might say that the National Audit Office has pointed out all these failing projects in Britain for years, as has the Public Accounts Committee, which is very ably chaired by Sir Geoffrey and previously by Dame Meg. But another question I might…”

“17. What progress she has made on strengthening the economy since July 2024.”

“Mr Glen’s chapter of questioning takes us to a point where we have to accept that, however good your work is, some projects are going to be a mistake. For example, a nuclear power station in Scotland when the SNP do not agree with it. To what extent do you engage with other political parties to ensure that they are edu…”

“We had better move on. I have heard today, for instance, that people can come to training but do not have to. How are we going to improve things if we do not make this stuff mandatory?”

“Mr Farrington, generally what I would say to that is just that the Act is quite clear that it needs to have a chair. After a certain point, it would be difficult to say that having a situation where there is not a chair appointed as contemplated by the Act respects what Parliament intended in the Act, but I guess it is…”

“This is just a quick follow-up. It is a very interesting chapter of discussion with Mr Glen, but I am just thinking about explaining this to constituents. There are people who want to abolish or severely constrain the OBR. Is your point simply this? It is not the OBR that is the constraint; it is the fact that we have …”

“On the question as to whether the OBR is operating competently, schedule 1, paragraph 1 of the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 provides as follows: “The office is”—and “is” is the key word here—“to consist of a member to chair it, appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer with the consent of the Tr…”

“If there was a radical reform to the OBR and we constrained its role in some way, how do you think the bond markets would react to that?”

“Are you confident that the chair will be in place by the 10-week deadline to which I referred?”

“The Chancellor wrote to this Committee on 20 February 2026. The Chancellor talked about the recruitment process and then she said, “Once a process has concluded, we would usually appreciate your assistance by facilitating your pre-appointment scrutiny before the summer recess”. Is it still the plan that the candidate i…”

“Does the Treasury have a contingency plan? This Committee consents to the appointment, and of course it can withhold its consent. What happens then? Do you have a contingency plan if this Committee does not approve the Chancellor’s nomination?”

“Could I just come in on long-term forecasts? Minister, you mentioned the fiscal risk and sustainability reports, which provide a long-term view of the sustainability of UK public finances. In political and public debate, do you think that the long-term sustainability of our public finances is getting enough attention?”