Speeches by Davies.

“It feels like a lifetime since 2022, when a Prime Minister and a Chancellor gambled with our economy. They put Britain in hock to the bond markets, sent mortgage rates soaring and plunged millions of families into hardship. That reckless approach left deep scars that our communities still bear today. Contrast that chao…”

“So that will be clearly linked; we will be able to see that very clearly.”

“What will that look like in the next year in cost savings? What will that achieve?”

“In your written evidence, you refer to your aim for the savings program to be “bold and transformative”. That is quite a bold statement, isn’t it? How would you define “bold and transformative”? What does that look like?”

“What will that look like in the next year in cost savings? What will that achieve?”

“What are the key cost savings to be achieved through technology change and advances in using technology?”

“Okay, so this is an enabler that is crucial to achieving the overall plans?”

“What are the key cost savings to be achieved through technology change and advances in using technology?”

“Okay, so this is an enabler that is crucial to achieving the overall plans?”

“So we will be able, very quickly, to understand what outcomes you are looking at, the impact and the changes.”

“And that is part of the cost-saving plan?”

“Is that an active recruitment process that you are running?”

“And that is part of the cost-saving plan?”

“You have talked a bit about technology, IT and its role as an enabler of efficiencies and improvements, so I will not dwell on that. I think you covered some of that. To achieve it, however, do we have the resources internally to help us to do so, or are you focusing on external resources? If there are external resourc…”

“One final question from me: what are the key barriers to achieving that?”

“Is that an active recruitment process that you are running?”

“Thanks—that is great. I have one other thing to ask about the plans. A number of proposed savings are marked green. Does that mean that those proposals will immediately impact savings?”

“So we will be able, very quickly, to understand what outcomes you are looking at, the impact and the changes.”

“You have talked a bit about technology, IT and its role as an enabler of efficiencies and improvements, so I will not dwell on that. I think you covered some of that. To achieve it, however, do we have the resources internally to help us to do so, or are you focusing on external resources? If there are external resourc…”

“How is the work to pull that together being facilitated? That is key to what you are talking about, isn’t it?”