I want to say thank you to everyone who supported members through the year-end process, whether it was providing representation, signposting where members can get support, or just keeping members updated about the process. Your efforts were really appreciated. It proved to be a very busy time for us with an uplift in the number of members who needed support, but I was also really encouraged to see 61% of those members who did appeal had an uplift in their scores, and in turn their bonus.

Just a couple of things to call out to Reps, firstly, please don’t forget to talk to your members about the survey we have sent out. We will be sending out reminders to people but nothing compares to local reps actually talking to your members and explaining why it’s so important that we get their views and feedback. Don’t forget that everyone who completes the survey goes in to a prize draw as well, and this is even open to brand new members, so you can promote this to people who are thinking of joining.

As always, don’t forget to take advantage of our “Starter for 10” campaign, which is ongoing, we want to pay out as much as possible to reps who recruit members in your workplace.

You will have seen in the all-member magazine that we have announced June 24th as the date for out virtual conference. This gives you plenty of time to arrange time with your manager to attend and, more importantly, to add your motions to the debate. We will be giving a full update on the progress for last year’s actions as well. As the year rolls on, you will see more details on this.

On Monday, I was delighted to meet with Mahesh and spend a decent amount of time with him to understand his high-level agenda as our new CEO, and also to talk to him about some of the concerns and questions that have been raised by you and your members. I think the fact that we have met him so early into his tenure really shows how much value people have in his vision for the bank. We will undoubtedly have a lot of work with the integration of the TSB over the coming months. As a collective, the investment from group shows the importance of the UK market but I know that there will be individual impacts and we are here to ensure our members’ voices are heard. We will continue to update members as we have more information through our normal channels.

Jim.