Bank Closures and Banking Hubs

Alison Griffiths Excerpts

Thursday 5th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lavery]

I of course agree: the criteria laid down by the Government, the banks, the FCA and Link need to be utterly overhauled to represent people in our communities. I will come on to some of the points that my hon. Friend raises.

[Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

All of us in this House share the concern that the disabled and the vulnerable are losing access not just to cash, but to services. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is high time we asked the Government to ensure that the FCA reviews its guidelines on this?

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[Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery). It is an honour to speak about the impact of the decline of local bank branches, which is an issue of such importance to my constituents. The closure of the Santander in Rustington is just the latest blow. The need for a robust and fair system of banking hubs is urgent.

High streets have changed beyond recognition. Once, we had Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds on every corner. Now, 6,300 branches have closed since 2015, which is a 64% fall. Cash use may have dropped to 14% of payments, but millions still depend on it, especially the elderly, the disabled and the vulnerable. In places like Rustington, entire communities have been left without local banking. Some are forced online against their wishes, even when they cannot afford the technology or cannot physically use it. At the same time, they are increasing their exposure to phishing attacks. My constituent Roger Mallock has lost a life-changing sum of money to cyber-scammers.

Post offices cannot fill the gaps; the queues are longer, and they cannot handle complex banking needs or take large cash deposits. Despite my appeals to Link, Rustington was denied a banking hub. I raised the matter directly with the Prime Minister and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. As one constituent put it:

“Banks are licensed by the Government. Those licences should come with a duty to maintain local branches.”

Consider a Ukrainian couple who came to Bognor Regis under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Thanks to the Santander branch, they opened accounts, and they continue to rely on in-person support due to language barriers; without it, they would lose hours from work and face serious barriers to managing their finances. They are not alone: many elderly and less mobile customers depend on face-to-face services.

Banking hubs offer a limited solution. Only 108 hubs are operational out of the 224 planned, and they can take up to 12 months to open. Worse, the FCA’s rules are too narrow, focused only on cash rather than on broader services. The last Government introduced the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, which was a start but does not go far enough. Banking is not a luxury; it is a lifeline. We must ensure that digital innovation does not leave millions behind.

Finance Bill

Alison Griffiths Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 27th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

I commend the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett) for her maiden speech. She and I share many interests, not least in technology, promoting women in technology and accessibility. I wish her well.

Turning to the matter in hand, the measures in the Bill are in addition to others announced as part of a Budget that has caused serious concern for businesses in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. Re-energising our high streets has been one of my key priorities, but the Budget pushes us further from that goal.

The Government plan to increase employers’ national insurance contributions from 13.8% to 15% and to lower the threshold from £9,100 to £5,000. That will force businesses to pay more sooner. Meanwhile, business rates relief for retail and hospitality will drop from 75% to 40%. Research shows that that will cause a 140% increase in rates, with the average UK restaurant seeing costs rise from £5,051 to £12,122l, a £7,000 hike that could force closures. Those changes come on top of existing pressures caused by covid, the war in Ukraine and energy price inflation. A local business has shared the impact of that on its profit and loss: its freight costs are up 126% since 2019, raw materials are rising by 6%, warehouse rents were up 24% last year, with another 6% rise in 2024, and utility costs were up 58% in 2023. Businesses already stretched thin cannot absorb the additional costs that the Budget imposes. Piling on national insurance contributions and higher business rates alongside steep minimum wage hikes, without supporting productivity and growth, is a recipe for disaster.

[Graham Stuart]

In painting this stark picture, my hon. Friend has not mentioned the Employment Rights Bill, which is expected to impose particular burdens on hospitality businesses, including those on her high streets—a total of £5 billion in addition to the measures in this Budget.

[Alison Griffiths]

My right hon. Friend makes a valid and important point. I have restricted my comments to the Finance Bill and the Budget, but the Employment Rights Bill places significant additional pressures on businesses, and I thank him for that point.

For towns such as Bognor Regis and Littlehampton where businesses already operate on razor-thin margins, these measures could be existential. Highly regarded local employers, including family-run small and medium-sized enterprises such as Temple Spa and Meridian Medical, are gravely concerned. Entrepreneurs like those take immense personal and financial risks to create jobs and support our economy, yet this Government treat them as an endless revenue source instead of engines for growth. The Chancellor’s projections may work on paper, but they are disconnected from reality. Our high streets, SMEs and family businesses need support, not policies that make survival—let alone growth—harder. I urge the Government to rethink their approach or take steps to mitigate the impact on our communities.

Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Exemptions

Alison Griffiths Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

The Institute for Fiscal Studies predicts that even a modest migration of 3% to 7% of private school students to the state sector will cost the Government hundreds of millions of pounds a year, wiping out much of the projected revenue from VAT. Far from improving the education system, the policy will add stress to state schools already grappling with limited resources and overcrowded classrooms. It is a tax on aspiration, which disproportionately impacts hard-working families already making sacrifices. Perhaps most importantly, this policy will damage the significant contribution that independent schools make to special educational needs and disabilities provision.

A constituent of mine is worried about this exact issue. She got in touch to say:

“My son has been diagnosed with ADHD and high-functioning ASD…he has already been let down by the state education system. His first school reported us to social services, rather than offering the support he needed. His second school refused to help us secure an EHCP, and instead suggested we monitor his intake of E-numbers.

Given these challenges, we made the difficult decision to enrol him in private education.

We are not part of the elite; we work very hard and have had to borrow a significant amount of money to cover his tuition fees for next year.”

The proposed removal of business rates relief will exacerbate the financial challenges faced by independent schools, and the loss of those schools will devastate local communities, limit educational choice and further diminish the capacity for SEND education. The Labour Government’s lack of impact assessment and weak fiscal evaluation will ultimately be detrimental to many families in my constituency.

Winter Fuel Payment

Alison Griffiths Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Emma Reynolds)]

This has been an important debate, with many hon. and right hon. Members making important contributions. My hon. Friends the Members for Wirral West (Matthew Patrick), for Bracknell (Peter Swallow), for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth), for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (Chris Murray), for Rugby (John Slinger) and for Makerfield (Josh Simons) rightly spoke about the importance of this Government’s action to restore economic stability so that we can rebuild our economy and our public services. My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Northfield (Laurence Turner) rightly reminded us that a strong economy needs strong public services. Many hon. Members, both on—

[Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Emma Reynolds]

I am going to make a little bit of progress.

Many hon. Members, both on—

[Alison Griffiths]

Will the Minister give way?

[Emma Reynolds]

I said I will make some progress, thank you.

Many hon. Members, both on the Government side and on the Opposition Benches, including my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) and the hon. Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris), spoke about the work they are doing to encourage pensioners in their own constituencies to apply for pension credit to get the support they need.

I want to start by saying some more about the principles that underlie the Government’s approach to means-testing winter fuel payments. First, most help should be targeted to those who most need it. Secondly, significant support for all pensioners will come around via the triple lock. Thirdly, alongside that, extra help will be available to those on low incomes.

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[Emma Reynolds]

No, I will not.

Moreover, the warm home discount of £150 will help low-income pension households this year. That is critically important, because it is not just for the lowest-income pensioners on pension credit. It is for pensioners on low incomes who have high energy costs, and it will be open to application in October.

[Alison Griffiths]

rose—

[Emma Reynolds]

I have said to the hon. Lady that I will not give way, and I will not give way, so she should sit down.

The Government encourage Members to boost awareness and encourage people to apply for the warm home discount.

[Alison Griffiths]

rose—

[Emma Reynolds]

I will give way.

[Alison Griffiths]

I thank the Minister, but I should like her to explain why this Government have failed to extract any concessions from the train drivers and their union paymasters.

[Emma Reynolds]

rose—

[Alison Griffiths]

I have not finished. The Government’s “digital centre of government” was all ready to use technology to improve public services, but there has been a complete failure of negotiation, and the price is being paid by our pensioners.

[Emma Reynolds]

I honestly think that Conservative Members have some brass neck. During their time in power, we lost an average of 3 million working days a year to strikes because of their failure to deal with industrial action, and we lost 1.4 million NHS appointments which were cancelled, which meant that pensioners and others were in pain for longer than they needed to be. We will not take lectures from the Conservatives. We have had to take this difficult decision to means-test the winter fuel payment because of the £22 billion black hole in year, this year. [Interruption.] They may not want to hear it, but they should apologise for leaving that black hole. It was created by repeated and reckless unfunded spending—