The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,
Declares that NatWest Ferryhill is due to close on the 4th June 2018 and this will have a detrimental effect to the local community.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take into account the concerns of petitioners and take whatever steps they can to halt the planned closure of NatWest Ferryhill branch.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Phil Wilson , Official Report, 15 May 2018; Vol. 641, c. 246.]
[P002149]
Observations from the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Glen):
The Treasury has received nine petitions, objecting to the closure of bank branches, from the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Patricia Gibson) (P002135, P002136, P002137), the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Angus Brendan MacNeil) (P002140), the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Neil Gray) (P002142), the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford) (P002144 and P002145), the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Drew Hendry), (P002147), and the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Phil Wilson) (P002149).
The Government thank all members of Parliament who have recently submitted petitions on bank branch closures on behalf of their constituents.
The Government are sorry to hear about residents’ disappointment at the closure of their local bank branches.
All banking service providers will need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategies. Decisions on opening and closing branches and agencies are taken by the management team of each bank on a commercial basis, without intervention from Government.
The Government are clear that their stake in RBS Group is managed at arm’s length by UK Financial Investments (UKFI). UKFI are wholly owned by the Government and are responsible for managing the Government’s stake in the assets acquired during the financial crisis. UKFI are not responsible, however, for managing the assets themselves. RBS retains its own board, which is responsible for strategic and management decisions and decisions relating to branch closures are solely within the remit of the bank.
However, the Government do believe that banks should act in the best interests of their customers and are committed to increasing competition to deliver better financial products and services for all bank customers. The Government continue to engage actively with the banking industry and consumer groups on these issues on an ongoing basis.
In May 2017, the major high street banks signed up to the Access to Banking Standard, committing to work with customers and communities to minimise the impact of branch closures and put in place alternative banking services. The Standard commits banks to ensure customers are well informed about branch closures, the bank’s reasons for closure and options for continued access to banking services. These options should include specialist assistance for customers who need more help. The operation of the Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board, ensuring that banks are held accountable for the way they treat their customers when a branch closes.
In addition, in January 2017, the Post Office announced that it had reached an agreement with the banks that will allow more banking customers to access a wider range of services at the Post Office than ever before. The arrangement allows 99% of personal and 95% of business customers to withdraw money, deposit cash and cheques and check balances at more than 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. Since 2010, branch numbers have been at their most stable for decades and 99.7% of the national population now live within three miles of a branch. Furthermore, 92.9% of the national population live within one mile of their nearest post office branch. Almost 98.7% of the rural population live within 3 miles of a post office.
Both initiatives have the Government’s full support, and banks are aware that the Government expect their involvement to be genuine and unqualified.
Should constituents wish to switch banks, the Government have made it easier to do so than ever before using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). The switch service is free to use, comes with a guarantee to protect customers from financial loss if something goes wrong, and redirects any payments mistakenly sent to the old account, providing further assurance for customers. This means that customers are more able than ever to hold their banks to account by voting with their feet, and that banks are incentivised to work hard to retain their existing customers and attract new ones. More information about CASS is available at: www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk
The Government cannot reverse the changes in the market and in customer behaviour; nor can they determine firms’ commercial strategies in response to those changes. However, the Government will continue to take positive action to maintain access to vital banking services and ensure banks support communities across the UK when their local branches close.