Declares that the Petitioners oppose the plans to close the St Agnes branch of Barclays Bank; further that the Petitioners feel that the branch is a vital element of their community; and further that a local Petition on this matter has been signed by 2827 individuals.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage Barclays to reverse their decision to close the branch in St Agnes or to postpone the closure to enable the Petitioners to work with the bank to make it more viable for it to be kept open.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Sarah Newton, Official Report, 12 February 2015; Vol. 592, c. 1049 .]
[P001435]
Observations from the Chancellor of Exchequer:
The Government thank the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton) for her petition on the closure of the Barclays branch in St Agnes.
The Government are sorry to hear about the disappointment that the closure of the local Barclays bank branch has caused to residents of St Agnes.
Improving access to banking is a key part of the Government’s long-term economic plan. The Government continue to engage actively with the banking industry and consumer groups on these matters. Recently, the Economic Secretary for the Treasury has chaired a series of roundtable meetings alongside the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills on access to banking. The UK’s banks and building societies have been tasked with enhancing and improving awareness of the banking services available through the Post Office. 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.
While the range of services offered by the Post Office may be more limited than that offered in a traditional bank branch, the services provided through the Post Office’s extensive network ensures that essential banking facilities remain available in as many communities as possible. The service at St Agnes Post Office will be adjusted from 6 February to enable customers to undertake Barclays manual deposits at the counter. This solution should ensure that the community of St Agnes have access to a wider range of banking services. This Government have committed almost £2 billion to protect and modernise the Post Office network.
Although we can understand local residents’ concern, decisions on opening and closing agencies are taken by the management team of each bank on a commercial basis. As with other banking service providers, Barclays need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy and the Government do not seek to intervene in these decisions.