"Scotland is an energy superpower, so it is particularly galling for constituents and businesses in my constituency, which is a two and a half hour drive end to end, and where road vehicles are an absolute necessity to conduct daily life, to face the prices they currently face. Will the …..." Graham Leadbitter - View Speech
"I absolutely agree with that. It is important that, where there are hubs, they are open for a reasonable period of time and are accessible at different points of the day to different people with different needs.
"I absolutely agree. I am pleased to see the Bill coming forward, as it will provide opportunities to make progress on this important issue.
There is also the vital question of community sustainability. The loss of banking services in rural communities makes it harder to attract people to live and …..." Graham Leadbitter - View Speech
After the election, the Government said they were working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK, which is very welcome, and that the banking sector was committed to deliver those hubs by the end of this Parliament. But …..." Graham Leadbitter - View Speech
"Absolutely. I would consider those to be basic services that people should be able to access as close to their own community as they possibly can.
I was perplexed to read, in response to a written question from November last year, that the Government do not hold any bank closure …..." Graham Leadbitter - View Speech
"That gets to the heart of the matter. There is not an understanding by either the regulators or the banks themselves of the impacts that those closures have on communities that view themselves as being neighbours and part of a wider community, and the cumulative impact of that is significant...." Graham Leadbitter - View Speech
I turn to the inadequacies in the current framework, and I will try to make some progress. Current criteria include the number of remaining branches, the population size and the retail centre size, which is frankly ridiculous when some communities can be compact while others can have a narrow …..." Graham Leadbitter - View Speech
"Absolutely. I am about to talk about the critical services offered by banks through banking hubs, which addresses the hon. Gentleman’s point.
Community bankers located within banking hubs can offer much needed savings, loan and mortgage advice. Recently, a local community leader in Grantown made the strong point that basic …..." Graham Leadbitter - View Speech
"Absolutely. Again, that goes back to the point I made about people needing a business service and basic business advice without having to travel dozens of miles to access that. Setting up a business is hard at the best of times, and having simple access to somewhere that will answer …..." Graham Leadbitter - View Speech
"Less than two weeks ago, the SNP secured a landslide, record-breaking Scottish election victory, including the election of two constituency MSPs who have left this place for Scotland’s Parliament. I know that regardless of political difference, there is a significant level of respect across the parties for their contributions in …..." Graham Leadbitter - View Speech