Speeches by McDonagh.

“I have some suggestions for who you could look at.”

“That brings us back to the concern about vulnerable complainants and complainants feeling that there is a real possibility of redress against some pretty big financial organisations, which can seem like David and Goliath, can it not? Have you been consulted on how this power would be used in practice, and would you sup…”

“The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services recently published a report arguing that financial scandals over the past two decades have followed a recurring pattern: early warnings missed, slow regulatory intervention, significant consumer harm and only limited reform. Do you acce…”

“Could I follow up on John’s questions about romance fraud and the impact it has on individuals apart from the money side of things? How far is that exacerbated by the closure of bank counters and face-to-face banking services? In my experience, when somebody went along to make a payment at the local Barclays and the la…”

“The Treasury has taken a power to exclude certain FCA rules from the ombudsman’s adapted fair and reasonable test, including potentially high-level principles such as the consumer duty. Given that the consumer duty is now central to your regulatory approach, does excluding it from the ombudsman’s decision risk undermin…”

“I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate. I also ask you to be mindful about issues of sub judice; we have been given some flexibility by the Speaker, but I urge you to err on the side of caution when referring to ongoing cases.”

“I call Jim Shannon—a brief Jim Shannon.”

“I apologise to the two Members who are standing; we have 12 minutes left for Back-Bench speeches, so that is six minutes each.”

“Silently and in semi-secrecy, London and the south-east of England are experiencing the largest mass eviction by a private landlord in decades. Criterion Capital has issued at least 130 no-fault eviction notices across its portfolio, including in Britannia Point in Collier’s Wood in my constituency. Those affected have…”

“He didn’t do that himself, though.”

“Can I just add, isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing?”

“Just under, yes.”

“I am really lucky, Minister, because I was born and brought up in my constituency and I have seen the changes in my high street. I live in a very suburban area; I live opposite Kevin Godding, who owns Colliers Wood’s Coffee in the Wood, so he was able to put a briefing about his business rates through my letterbox late…”

“Be better organised—join a trade union.”

“I am not going across the road and telling Kevin that he’s an outlier.”

“I do not want to queer the pitch of our next questions, but it is a holistic thing. A small business does not just consider business rates; it considers what its total costs are. When you make these decisions, do you know what the potential total cost of the whole thing is, and whether these businesses can keep going?”

“My understanding is that that is an increase; you can have your business rates increased by up to £800. The original figure—what he pays this year—is £509, so that plus £800 is £1,309. That is not a big sum on its own, but it represents a 157% increase. I appreciate that you are worried about confidentiality, but my po…”

“Can I just clarify that that is the increase, not the total bill?”

“No, it was something like portable discount. If that helped you to buy, you could buy in the private sector, releasing the social housing unit. It helped a family to get on the ladder, and a property was made available for somebody else in need. Obviously, you would bend it towards the larger properties, which were wha…”

“Sorry, Chair, but I have so many hobby horses that I am able to try out here. Given the reduction in the discount under right to buy, for all the reasons that you have described—there was a product, and I am trying to remember its name, where if somebody left their social housing unit to buy, they would get—”