Speeches by McDonagh.

“Did they make it up?”

“The National Franchised Dealers Association certainly think that they are on a group. Are they wrong?”

“Does the panel exist?”

“Following an update on car finance, which the FCA published on 5 June, the National Franchised Dealers Association—a trade group representing car dealers—said on their website that they were part of the consumer redress scheme design panel. I could not find any other information about it, including who is on it, whethe…”

“I would like to look at some issues around car finance. Has the FCA set up a new panel to design a compensation scheme for car finance victims?”

“Obviously, prosecution is one side of it, but could people be looking to finfluencers because of the lack of good advice out there? Given the restrictions about financial advisers and people with less than half a million not wanting to pay £1,500 for a financial advice session, should building societies be given more p…”

“Every cautious organisation is going to come in under the limit, isn’t it? If you increased it by 5%, even if people only made it to 15% or 16%, there would still be lots of people who would get a benefit from it.”

“As a member of the Prudential Regulatory Committee, would you be sympathetic to a more liberal regime for building systems in their loan-to-income borrowing? At the moment, they are restricted; they can give only 15% of mortgages over 4.5 times income. If they were allowed to go up to 20%, they could help another 15,00…”

“Particular firms?”

“That is a very different tone from His Majesty’s Passport Office saying, “Do not phone us up because you are not digitally excluded. Just get on with it”. That is the tone I was getting from you.”

“That is great, and well done, but if people do not know their national insurance number and need to know it, and are not able to find out by the other routes that you have provided, they are going to call you. It is called public service, is it not?”

“Your journey is not unique. We interview banks, building societies and insurance companies that have all been on this journey before you. We talk to them about people choosing. We talk about the fear of using digital services and the problems with scams and so much else. While I completely understand the point that you…”

“If it is a service just for the digitally excluded or what anyone imagines they need, it will be a very poor service.”

“When it comes to HMRC, there is no suggestion of choice. The taxpayer is told how to access the service that collects their money.”

“Ms MacDonald, in your answer you talked about “genuinely” digitally excluded people. Who is not genuinely digitally excluded or disingenuously digitally excluded?”

“Yes. It was my first job on leaving university.”

“Have you ever sat at reception?”

“Have you ever done any work in them?”

“Have you ever worked in a jobcentre?”

“People need to be able to get an answer to their question without phoning up, do they not? I am going to do what I am sure you hate and what MPs do to you all the time. Last week, a very savvy and mature businesswoman came to see me because she and her accountant, after repeated contacts, could not get an answer to her…”