Member

The noble Baroness asked how we can have a dialogue with people if they do not know that we are getting the bank statements. I suppose the whole point is that it is the other way around. We need the bank statements because these are people with whom we are not having a dialogue, because they refuse to engage with us, so we have no way of knowing what is affordable for them other than looking at the information. At any point they can get in touch and negotiate, and then we can have that dialogue, but we need them to do it. If they will not, this is the only way of making sure that those deductions are affordable.