The petition of residents of Hornsey and Wood Green,
Declares that the petitioners are extremely disappointed at the announcement of the closure of Barclays Crouch End branch in March 2024; notes that this is barely more than a year since their Muswell Hill branch closed; further declares that bank branches are the heart of communities, and are relied upon by local communities, especially older and disabled people, those who need access to cash and those without internet banking; and further declares that they are also vital for local businesses.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to act to protect essential in-person banking services.
And the petitioners remain, etc. —[Presented by Catherine West, Official Report, 22 February 2024; Vol. 745, c. 945.]
[P002915]
Observations from the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Bim Afolami):
The Government thank the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Catherine West) for submitting the petition on behalf of her constituents regarding the closure of the Barclays Crouch End branch and the provision of in-person banking services.
The Government are sorry to hear of her constituents’ disappointment at the planned closure of the branch, particularly following the previous closure of Barclays’ branch in Muswell Hill. The Government believe that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking and cash services, and I would like to assure you that I am monitoring this issue closely. Banks and building societies occupy a privileged position in society and are essential to enabling people to manage their money on a day-to-day basis.
The Government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to introduce a new legislative framework to protect access to cash for individuals and businesses. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. As part of this responsibility, the FCA must seek to ensure that there is reasonable provision of free withdrawal and deposit facilities in relation to personal current accounts. The FCA recently consulted on its proposed regulatory regime in its consultation on “Access to cash”.
For access to banking services more broadly, while the Government acknowledge that decisions to open or close a branch are commercial decisions for banks, it is imperative that banks and building societies recognise the needs of all their customers, including those who still need to use in-person services. The impact of branch closures must be mitigated where possible so that all customers, wherever they live, continue to have appropriate access to banking services.
Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of a planned closure on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This includes paying particular attention to the impact on more vulnerable customers. This seeks to ensure that the implementation of closure decisions is done in a way that treats customers fairly. The FCA is closely monitoring banks and building societies in this regard and if a firm falls short in their provision of reasonable alternatives, the FCA can and will ask for closures to be paused or for other options to be put in place.
The customer information pack that Barclays has published for the Crouch End Branch closure highlights that customers can use the free-to-use ATMs at the nearby TSB branch 95 yards up the high street, as well as alternative Barclays branches in Wood Green, 1.4 miles away, and North Finchley, 3.4 miles away. Both of these branches are accessible from the closing bank branch via public transport.
Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking and via the Post Office or banking hubs. The Post Office allows personal and business customers to carry out everyday banking services at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK, and banking hubs are a shared initiative which enable customers of participating banks to access cash and banking services in shared facilities. Over 100 banking hubs have been announced so far, with more than 35 opened to date. The Government hope to see the remaining hubs open as soon as possible.