Declares that the Petitioners wish for the Directors of Barclays Bank to suspend the proposed closure of the much valued Marston Green branch of Barclays until proper consultation has been undertaken with the community and customers affected to see if there is an opportunity to keep the branch open.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage Barclays to keep the Marston Green branch open until after consultation.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Mrs Caroline Spelman, Official Report, 17 July 2013; Vol. 566, c. 11P.]
[P001214]
Observations from the Chancellor of the Exchequer:
The Government thanks Caroline Spelman MP for her petition on the closure of the Barclays bank branch in Marston Green.
The Government is sorry to hear of the residents of Marston Green disappointment at the closure of this Barclays branch. Although we can understand their concerns, decisions on opening and closing branches and agencies are taken by the management team of each bank on a commercial basis. As with other banking service providers, Barclays will need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering its strategy and the Government does not intervene in these decisions.
It may be useful to note that many bank account providers already have an arrangement with the Post Office to provide access to their bank accounts, where customers can withdraw money, deposit cash and cheques and check balances at all 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.