Speeches by McEvoy.

“I want to ask about the 800,000 figure. I thought your 2024 welfare trends report was a fascinating read—I read it a few times to get my head around it. It explained that the increases in the number of claimants often come from claimants transitioning from legacy benefit systems, and how the numbers seem to be higher b…”

“I thought it was very interesting that chart 3 of the report said that 20% were new claimants, and that the biggest significant change in the increase from 2018-19 to 2023-24 was due to the lack of drop-offs. Could you elaborate a bit on that?”

“I would be interested in that. When you speak to people in receipt of any of these benefits, they don’t say it is an easy process. It is a very complicated, difficult and strenuous process, especially if you are disabled or unwell. Can you clarify two things? You just made a point about the financial incentive from the…”

“Finally, just to be 100% clear, in your projections, where you have scored the welfare changes, on the trajectory of increased cases you have not included legacy cases going into the system—the transition from the old system to the new system.”

“It is? Okay.”

“If this Committee asked you about a specific issue, would you decline to comment under the new position, or do you feel that you would be able to answer on the record in a Select Committee environment?”

“You mentioned the pension auto-enrolment, which is obviously great. However, we know there is a bit of a ticking time bomb coming down the line with the lack of pension support for self-employed people. If there is that problem, or our pension funds are not investing in UK companies, how will the FCA help to solve it?”

“The Committee has heard that we have a world-leading consumer protection regime. Why is consumer confidence in investment. as a way to make better returns, so low? Your own financial lives survey that you mentioned earlier said 4 million people have in excess of £10,000 in cash savings. If we have such a good consumer …”

“I think the majority of people in our constituencies have got the message that we have an issue with stagnating growth. You said, Mr Alder, that there is an issue on pension fund investments in this country. You said, Mr Rathi, that there is an issue with firms going public and with investment for those firms. We all k…”

“A final question from me, in the interests of time. You mentioned a few times that certain things require legislation and you would take your leadership from the Government. What other things do you think they should be considering in terms of legislative changes to enable the growth mission to succeed?”

“Go on. What is the burning idea?”

“In the interests of time, I have a quick question. Can you tell the Committee what is really going on with the name-and-shame policy position?”

“Will the Minister meet me, and other members of the all-party parliamentary group for the armed forces, to discuss rolling out the best practice of some fire authorities to give those who have served our country automatic interviews for relevant roles in the public sector? It is a brilliant idea that would really benef…”

“How do you expect your chair of the Crown Estate role to be different from that of the one in the private sector?”

“Good afternoon, Mr Lewis. Your CV is really impressive. It sounds like you have had a really interesting career. Following on from Dame Harriett’s question, is there any scope for you to bring these philanthropic passions to the new role? Do you see any crossover with your philanthropic arm and the things that you have…”

“It is indeed. This is just a quick thing about logistics. How much of your time will you devote to working at the Crown Estate? How often will you be in the office?”

“How applicable is your experience in real estate to the assets held by the Crown Estate?”

“That was actually my next question. How will you share the strategic direction? How is it going to be divvied up between you and the chief executive, Dan Labbad?”

“On that point, are there any particular sites under the Crown Estate that you are excited about visiting first? What are your priority sites?”

“I welcome the reforms outlined today and the commitment to make sure that our most vulnerable disabled people are protected from these changes. In Darlington, we know the value of work, but I have come across constituents with learning difficulties who have been out of work for a long time. They have been in work place…”