Speeches by Grady.

“Minister, we could take a lot of time on this, so I suggest that the Treasury write to the Committee to explain how it will make sure that it is as clear as possible to busy small businesses owners, including the steps it is taking to understand the impact from a business owner’s point of view.”

“I suggest that we look at that, and then we might come back to you in writing.”

“Just before we move on to primary legislation again, the Consumer Credit Act passed in 1974, when we had only three TV channels and “Rising Damp” made its debut, and the ATM had come in only in 1967. It was a very different payments landscape.”

“I have a tiny question, Mr Bowler. I concede that there are minor leaks, big leaks and things in between, but culturally, is it attractive to have a situation where even a small leak is not followed up at present? There is a new process, and you want to show everyone you are really serious about this, but you are not e…”

“Sticking with legislation, obviously we want more growth in the economy, and a key focus of that is FCA regulation. Mr Rathi, the chief executive of the FCA, wrote to us last month with a pretty broad list of areas where the FCA is waiting for regulation. Why is it taking so long to push through legislation to back up …”

“I have just one follow-up question on the logic behind that. Obviously, corporation tax is taxed on profit, but are rates not taxed on turnover? There is a distinction between the two.”

“Only myself and Mr Dickson were there, and he was very young. When will phase 2 of the consultation on the Consumer Credit Act open?”

“I have just a quick question. You said in the House that the Barnett consequentials from the changes announced for pubs would be set out in the usual way. Are you in a position to explain how all these reforms will affect the Barnett consequentials?”

“One last question. Evidently, you have been looking at this closely, but we have identified some concerns that there may still be gaps. Have you consulted with experts in the MOD about the safeguarding of confidential information?”

“And when would you expect that primary legislation to be advanced?”

“I am chair of the APPG on Qatar, which will be relevant to the second hearing of this session.”

“Mr Bowler, with respect, it must be, because we have this serious leak and we cannot trace who leaked it or by what mechanism, so this is a fairly difficult inquiry. With that in mind, and with your review, what are the Treasury and the Government doing to make sure that, next time around, there is a better audit trail…”

“What about people’s phones? Will they have to safeguard their messages during market-sensitive periods so that they can be inspected?”

“I could take a picture on my phone and WhatsApp it to a journalist, couldn’t I? Will people have to keep their messages during market-sensitive periods?”

“I have a couple of follow-up questions. Do you understand the mechanism by which this information was leaked? Was it electronically? Was it in person?”

“That would suggest that in the Treasury, or in the pool of people who had access to this information, there are evidential gaps that meant you were unable to trace how it was leaked—so people deleted messages, did not keep a proper diary of what they were up to or whatever.”

“This is a very complicated area, as you have explained. What you say suggests that people may have underestimated the impact of the changes. I want you to think for a moment about those people. Imagine you are a publican; you are a husband-and-wife team getting your two kids off to school; you have a load of stuff to d…”

“Has that advice been followed to the very letter, or are there any elements of it that have been discounted?”

“You mentioned lobbying earlier. We are discussing lobbying. Has there been any recent lobbying on keeping it at £85,000 as opposed to moving it up to £120,000 so that it is consistent?”

“The deposit protection limit has risen to £120,000. The PSR has said it will review the reimbursement level within a reasonable period of time. Is there a plan to review this in the near future?”