Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government's Future of Post Office Green Paper, if a date has been set for the planned roundtable with Post Office and key banks on potentially expanding the banking services available at post offices.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of access to cash and banking services for businesses and individuals, including those who may be in vulnerable groups or require assistance and is supportive of industry initiatives that improve access to these vital services.
The Post Office plays a key role in supporting access to banking services. Under the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement between the Post Office and 30 banking firms, personal and business customers can withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. The specific services provided under the Framework are subject to commercial negotiations between individual banks and the Post Office, and the Government has no role in deciding what these arrangements are.
The Government would welcome continued collaboration between Post Office and the banking sector, on a commercial basis and will look to host joint discussions with Post Office and the banking sector in the coming months.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans she has to facilitate discussions between Post Office and the major banks on expanding in-person banking services at post offices.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of access to cash and banking services for businesses and individuals, including those who may be in vulnerable groups or require assistance and is supportive of industry initiatives that improve access to these vital services.
The Post Office plays a key role in supporting access to banking services. Under the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement between the Post Office and 30 banking firms, personal and business customers can withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. The specific services provided under the Framework are subject to commercial negotiations between individual banks and the Post Office, and the Government has no role in deciding what these arrangements are.
The Government would welcome continued collaboration between Post Office and the banking sector, on a commercial basis and will look to host joint discussions with Post Office and the banking sector in the coming months.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the next review and report on the work of the OBR be commissioned before the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 states that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Non-executive committee must appoint a person or body at least once in every 5-year period to review and report on the OBR.
The Chair of the OBR Oversight Board formally commissioned the third external review on 24 May 2024 which was published on 10 February 2025.
The OBR’s external reviews are published on the OBR’s website. https://obr.uk/about-the-obr/external-reviews/
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Department is taking to improve access to financial services for vulnerable customers in Northumberland.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator of the UK’s financial services sector, to ensure that all customers get the right support with their financial products and services.
FCA guidance highlights the actions firms should take to understand the needs of customers who may be vulnerable and to consider these needs appropriately. This includes offering multiple channels of communication to their customers where possible, and ensuring their services meet the needs of all their customers, including individuals with characteristics of vulnerability.
The FCA’s Consumer Duty also seeks to raise the standard of care expected from firms for all customers. It aims to deliver products and services that offer fair value and are designed to meet customers’ needs and seeks to increase firms’ focus on delivering good outcomes and preventing harm.
The Government is committed to continuing to engage with the FCA and the financial services sector to ensure consumers can access appropriate financial services products. As part of this, I have recently published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy which sets out an ambitious programme of measures to improve financial inclusion and resilience for underserved groups across the UK.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Department is taking to improve access to financial services for vulnerable customers in the Hexham constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator of the UK’s financial services sector, to ensure that all customers get the right support with their financial products and services.
FCA guidance highlights the actions firms should take to understand the needs of customers who may be vulnerable and to consider these needs appropriately. This includes offering multiple channels of communication to their customers where possible, and ensuring their services meet the needs of all their customers, including individuals with characteristics of vulnerability.
The FCA’s Consumer Duty also seeks to raise the standard of care expected from firms for all customers. It aims to deliver products and services that offer fair value and are designed to meet customers’ needs and seeks to increase firms’ focus on delivering good outcomes and preventing harm.
The Government is committed to continuing to engage with the FCA and the financial services sector to ensure consumers can access appropriate financial services products. As part of this, I have recently published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy which sets out an ambitious programme of measures to improve financial inclusion and resilience for underserved groups across the UK.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the mean average value of a property purchased under the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the eligibility criteria for that scheme on first-time buyers in Essex.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme is designed to support and sustain the availability of low deposit mortgage products for first-time buyers and home movers with a deposit as small as 5%.
All property types of any value are eligible, and the Scheme will now remain permanently available to lenders in all regions of the UK.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the average property value under the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme compared to the UK average house price.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme is designed to support and sustain the availability of low deposit mortgage products for first-time buyers and home movers with a deposit as small as 5%.
All property types of any value are eligible, and the Scheme will now remain permanently available to lenders in all regions of the UK.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 90569 on Banks: Closures, of the 240 banking hubs announced, how many will be based in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting the financial services industry’s roll-out of 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament.
The locations of banking hubs are independently determined by LINK, the industry coordinating body responsible for making access to cash assessments. LINK will carry out an assessment wherever a planned branch closure is announced or if they receive a community request.
Of the 246 banking hubs announced so far, 32 will be based in Scotland, 192 in England, 15 in Wales and seven in Northern Ireland.
Of the 191 banking hubs that are already open, 26 are in Scotland, 147 in England, 12 in Wales and six in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress she has made on implementing the provisions in Schedule 8 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 on access to cash; and what discussions she has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the effectiveness of its powers to enforce those provisions.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 granted the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) the responsibility and powers to seek to ensure the reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. The FCA introduced regulatory rules to protect access to cash in September 2024. Its rules ensure cash continues to be a viable method of payment for the millions of people who depend on it by providing reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposit facilities for individuals and businesses, including free services for personal accounts.
The FCA is required by law to keep its rules under review and has been closely monitoring the impact and effectiveness of their regime during its first year. It will commence a formal evaluation of its regime in due course.
The Government meets regularly with the FCA to discuss a range of topics.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 17 November to Question 87901 on Individual Savings Accounts, what assessment she has made of (a) the impact of the property price cap on the number of first-time buyers purchasing homes, (b) the number of first-time buyers by London borough, and (c) if she will make it her policy to provide a separate cap for properties in (i) inner London boroughs and (ii) outer London boroughs.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Data from the latest UK House Price Index demonstrates that the average price paid by first-time buyers is below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK. This includes London, where the average price paid by first-time buyers in November 2023 was under £437,000. A single UK-wide cap keeps the Lifetime ISA simple for savers and providers. In 2024/25, 87,250 individuals withdrew Lifetime ISA funds for a house purchase, an increase of around 30,500 on the previous tax year.
While HMRC does collect data on regional breakdown of Lifetime ISA account holders, the data quality is not sufficient to provide accurate regional breakdowns or produce statistics on individual London boroughs.
In HMRC’s response to the recent Treasury Select Committee’s LISA enquiry (link), a regional breakdown was provided where homes were bought using LISAs: HMRC LISA enquiry response - Tables 1, 2 and 3.
The Government keeps all aspects of tax and savings policy under review.