Bank Closures and Banking Hubs

Lewis Cocking Excerpts

Thursday 5th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

I commend the hon. Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) for securing this important debate.

Like so many places across the country, bank branches have closed at an alarming rate in my constituency. Not so long ago, residents could pop down to a branch of every major high street bank in the towns of Waltham Cross, Cheshunt and Hoddesdon. Just last week, Halifax became the latest bank branch to shut its doors in Waltham Cross, while in Hoddesdon the former site of the Barclays remains empty, a scar on an otherwise vibrant town centre. In my town of Cheshunt, a town of 40,000 people, not a single bank branch remains. That simply cannot be right.

The lack of in-person banking facilities is depriving people of access to vital services. For so many older and vulnerable people, it is causing huge difficulty and frustration, as they are forced to rely on digital services such as apps and smartphones.

[Sir John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) (Con)]

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point, and I particularly wish to draw his attention to the plight of blind people. Royal National Institute of Blind People research in 2023 found that 28% of blind and partially sighted people never used the internet, they struggle with ATMs, and they struggle too with travel to banks.

[Lewis Cocking]

I completely agree with my right hon. Friend. It is really important that we expand the rules to get banking hubs in more locations across the country. Not least of all, my nan does not do online banking. Every time I go and see her, she badgers me about it. She will specifically bank with someone where she can have face-to-face services, because she will not do online banking. It is a real struggle, because some banks say, “Well, you’ve got to telephone.” But even then, one has to have a smartphone to get a code on the app for security, so it is very difficult for our older and disabled constituents to access those vital services.

When Barclays went from the high street in Hoddesdon, it did a “Barclays local”. Through the good work of my Conservative-run Broxbourne council, we managed to get it into the Spotlight, our local theatre, but it is cashless. That is nonsense! Its bread and butter business as a high street bank is to deal with cash and get people access to its cash and banking services, but it wants to run a service that is now cashless. We tried in Cheshunt—as I said, a town of 40,000 people with no banking services—to get the NatWest banking van at the car park of our Laura Trott sports centre, but again it would only offer a cashless service. This is bread and butter to the high street banks. They should accept cash and we should bring forward legislation to ensure that our constituents across the country have access to banking services. We need to look at the rules, because waiting until the last bank is in our high street does not promote consumer choice or solve people’s banking and access to cash needs.

On buses, my constituents are lucky if the bus even turns up—we get one bus once an hour—so including public transport in analysis of banking hub locations is unreliable. We need to widen the criteria to enable more banking hubs to be opened up across the country.

Business Rates Relief: High-street Businesses

Lewis Cocking Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge (Sir Gavin Williamson) on securing the debate.

There are 1,400 small businesses with a rateable value of less than £50,000 across my constituency. Today, we are discussing only the changes in business rates, but a lot of other Government decisions—particularly on employers’ national insurance and on energy costs not coming down—will affect our high streets as well. The cumulative impact of all that is devastating for our high streets.

Lots of businesses I speak to in my constituency are horrified that rates relief dropped from 75% to 40%. When I go out and about across Broxbourne and speak to business owners, a lot of them now say, “What’s the point? What’s the point in me coming to work, trying to run a small business in the town centre, creating growth and employing people?” A Minister told me from the Dispatch Box that it is the Government that create growth. Well, let me tell the Government that it is not the Government that create growth; the Government’s job is to create the right environment for entrepreneurs and businesses to create growth.

Business owners go to work day in, day out, and work incredibly long hours. The Government should try to derisk that process. If we want people to open shops on our high streets, the Government should cushion them from some of the risks. When someone starts their own business at home—from a desk, garage or whatever—upscaling that business is incredibly difficult, and lots of risks are involved. Given that the Government are changing business rates relief and slapping more taxes on businesses, particularly in our town centres, why would someone do that?

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a secondary school in my constituency to speak to A-level students who are doing a business T-level. They all want to become entrepreneurs and create businesses, but we are not creating the right environment for people to become entrepreneurs. In the general election campaign, we heard a lot about how Labour would be the most pro-business Government ever to take power in the United Kingdom, but every decision the Government have made since being in office has slammed down growth and made it harder for businesses.

My constituency has the business improvement districts Love Hoddesdon, Love Cheshunt and Love Waltham Cross, and business owners constantly tell me that, whichever way they turn, things are incredibly difficult and the Government are not making them easy. Even when they go through the business rates appeals process, they have to pay the higher bills while the process takes place, and that process takes months. They do not get any response from the Treasury, and it is difficult for them to appeal and submit information. That is simply not good enough.

As I said, lots of people are starting to wonder, “What is the point in me doing this?” We should be pro-growth in this country. The best form of welfare is a well-paid job, but we are not allowing entrepreneurs to go out there, invest in their businesses, create job opportunities and keep our high streets afloat. We all want to see successful high streets up and down the United Kingdom, but this Government’s policies are killing the high street. They are absolutely killing it.

[Mr Angus MacDonald (Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire) (LD)]

I suggest that England is in an extraordinarily lucky position, because in Scotland we are not getting business rates relief. There is none for retail or leisure; there is some for hospitality, but only up to a point. The hon. Member should thank the Lord he lives in England.

[Lewis Cocking]

The SNP needs to come up with some relief, because things are hard enough in England, even without what the hon. Gentleman has just outlined in Scotland.

The OECD has today downgraded its growth predictions for the United Kingdom. The Government need to start acting on their rhetoric from before the general election. They said they would be pro-growth, but no policies have come forward to support our high streets or promote growth. The Government really should stop trying to kill our high streets.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lewis Cocking Excerpts

Tuesday 8th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

16. What steps she is taking to help protect in-person banking.

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Emma Reynolds)]

The Government understand the importance of in-person banking to communities and are working closely with the industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. More than 220 hubs have already been announced, of which more than 135 are already open.

[Emma Reynolds]

I would be very happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman if he wanted to discuss a specific banking hub that is being considered. We work very closely with Link. As he will know, his Government passed the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, under which the Financial Conduct Authority, Link and the financial services sector ultimately have power over the criteria, which is not something we are planning to change.

[Lewis Cocking]

How does the Minister plan to make it easier to establish banking hubs in communities that have lost all of their banks? I did have a meeting set up with the previous Minister, but she left Government before that meeting could take place. Will this Minister agree to meet me so that I can discuss the establishment of a banking hub in the town of Cheshunt in my Broxbourne constituency?

[Emma Reynolds]

I am always happy to meet colleagues and will be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman.

Family Businesses

Lewis Cocking Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

I am proud to represent a constituency with so many fantastic small businesses, and employers in Broxbourne are more likely to be small businesses than under the national average. Entrepreneurs in the towns and villages I represent are working hard and taking risks day in, day out, growing our local economy and creating jobs.

Earlier this month, I was told by a Government Minister standing at the Dispatch Box that I was “sort of right” that private business creates growth. Let me gently tell the Government that it is not the Government who create economic growth in this country; it is the thousands of business owners outside of this place who work hard day in, day out, creating jobs right across the country, investing in their companies and investing in their supply chains.

We have heard good speeches in this debate from Members on my side of the Chamber explaining how it is business that creates economic growth, not Government. A Labour Member alluded to the £25 billion national insurance increase and £5 billion employment regulation not mattering to family businesses, because they are small and do not employ many people. That is no way to treat family businesses in this country. We should be telling them that the sky is the limit. We should be saying, “Invest in and grow your business, and we will help and support you. We will create the right environment for you to take those risks,” because it is a massive risk when people put their life savings and their blood, sweat and tears into a business that they want to grow, particularly when it is from their home. They are taking an incredibly risk in saying, “Do you know what? I’m going to take that jump. I’m going to make an offer to someone and employ my first employee.” We should be creating the environment for people to be able to do that. The more family businesses we have, and the more family businesses that upskill, create local jobs and invest in their business, the more money the Treasury gets to spend on our public services. We should not be hampering businesses. The Minister was making a ludicrous point.

[Gregory Stafford]

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. Having listened to most of the debate, I make the allied point that while Labour Members have justified the need to raise taxes—which, like him, I entirely disagree with—we have heard not a single word from them about the impact of tax rises on family farms, family businesses and employers.

[Lewis Cocking]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I go out and speak to farmers and small business owners, as he does in his constituency, and I have met not one who thinks the Government are on the right path. I do not know who Labour Members speak to in their constituencies because—

[Jack Rankin (Windsor) (Con)]

Trade unions.

[Lewis Cocking]

What my hon. Friend says from a sedentary position is probably correct. Businesses and farmers in my constituency think that the Government have sold them down the river and led them up the garden path—they are doing things that they did not think they would do when they were trying to get into power. We have not heard from the Government what they are doing to support businesses and family businesses.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

The hon. Member speaks with great passion about his constituency, and I understand some of the concerns he has raised. He asks what the Government are doing. Apart from all the money we are putting into the NHS and all the money going into education, what are we doing? He earlier gave the example of a single person running a business about to employ their first person, which is a big step for any business—I accept that. But is it not the case that those small businesses will be paying less national insurance as a result of this Budget?

[Lewis Cocking]

Businesses in my constituency are putting off investing and employing local people because of the jobs tax and the Government’s proposed new regulation. I hope that when the Minister winds up, he will say what the Government will do to create the next generation of entrepreneurs.

We could turbocharge the education system. There are lots of fantastic teachers in my constituency and across the country who do a sterling job for young people. We could say to people who have created businesses, “We will give you some money off your tax bill if you go back to your secondary school and teach not from a textbook, but from real life experience about how to create growth, jobs and businesses and enthuse those students about creating their own businesses.” People do not have to go to a maths class to understand maths. Someone who has run a business could come in and say, “Right, we’ve got to do your accounts now. You’ve got to see how much you are going to pay people and how much tax you will pay.” We could get people in from the creative industries. They could say, “Right, now you have to design your logo. How are you going to do that? You’ve got to design a TV advertisement for your product, for what you are going to sell.” We could be doing that. We could be thinking outside the box.

I have not heard what support the Government are giving to create the next generation of entrepreneurs. If we do not unlock their aspiration and continue to allow people to take risks and invest in their ideas, there will be no taxes coming in or money for public services. We must do this, and we must do it more regularly. I hope the Minister will tell the House how he will unlock the next generation of entrepreneurs and how we will support people to take what is, as I said, a massive risk.

[Joe Morris]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that if the next generation of young people cannot get to work because of broken public transport, potholes or illness, it will ultimately hold them back? We are taking steps to fix those problems.

[Lewis Cocking]

The hon. Gentleman’s party is actually cutting the capital budget for transport. I have made this point time and again, but the Government could take on the utility companies that endlessly dig up the roads so that my constituents and many others across the country have to sit in traffic. That costs the taxpayer and the economy billions of pounds. If we get people to the shops and to work quicker, and traders, electricians and builders get to their sites quicker so that they can do their jobs, that will unlock growth, put more pounds in their pockets to spend on local high streets, which we need to protect, and enable them to take risks and employ people. But I have not heard that from the Government—I have not heard that we will take on the utility companies; I have not heard that we will unlock the aspiration of this country’s next generation through the education system.

Labour Members said in their manifesto and during the election campaign that they were the party of economic growth. I gently say to them that that is not working because fundamentally they do not understand that it is private business and our hard-working constituents in family businesses who create economic growth—not this disastrous Labour Government.

Finance Bill

Lewis Cocking Excerpts

Committee of the whole House
Wednesday 11th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Chairman]

We come to the final Back-Bench contribution, no doubt saving the best till last.

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

I am a Hertfordshire county councillor, and it is that authority that will have to pick up the pieces if parents cannot afford the VAT on private schools or if private schools close. A bit like in the farming debate, I have a specific example from my constituency that tears down the Government’s argument on adding VAT to private school fees.

Turnford was a secondary school in my constituency in decline. Academic standards and behaviour were poor and the quality of teaching was inconsistent, leading to students becoming demotivated and achieving less than the national expectations. Staff suffered from low morale and there were significant recruitment challenges. The school buildings, on a poorly laid-out site, were dilapidated. But thanks to a unique partnership with Haileybury, an independent school in my constituency, the tide began to turn. In 2015 the school was relaunched as Haileybury Turnford academy, with Haileybury as the sole sponsor. A generous annual improvement grant was established worth £200,000 a year; that has gone on for about five years, so more than £1 million has gone directly into that state school in my constituency. That has enabled Turnford to recruit much-needed staff and retain high-quality specialist teachers.

Haileybury also gives additional financial support for Turnford’s SEN students and provides opportunities for a wide breadth of academic and extracurricular activities, such as supporting programmes for gifted and talented pupils. Because of that partnership between state and private schools, academic standards have been transformed. We have had new classrooms constructed, and in 2022 Haileybury Turnford was judged by Ofsted to be “good” for the first time in the school’s history.

[Torsten Bell (Swansea West) (Lab)]

The hon. Member seems to be making the case that he has been seeing a pilot for this national policy in his own constituency, with higher fees, which presumably funded that £200,000 a year grant to the state school, paid by the attendees of the private school. His example therefore makes the case for exactly the Government’s policy on a wider scale.

[Lewis Cocking]

I thank the hon. Member. If he just waits for the next part of my speech, he may get the answer to his intervention.

The Government’s plan will put all that at risk. Notably, Haileybury is planning to absorb as much of the financial hit as it can, rather than place the extra burden on parents. To do so, it must look at reducing expenditure and therefore its ability to offer financial support to Haileybury Turnford, painfully contradicting the Government’s argument that their policy will result in more spending on state school pupils. It is not just about money; greater financial pressures on Haileybury will inevitably lead to staff having less time and resources available to share with Turnford, and fewer opportunities for state school students at Haileybury Turnford as a result.

Ministers think that their policy will impact only the rich, but for nearly a decade a genuinely working-class community in my constituency has benefited from a state school and an independent school working together, which is exactly the kind of partnership that we should be encouraging. We should not be encouraging the politics of envy. Sadly, the changes that the Government are introducing through the Bill will bring all that to an end.

[James Murray]

Let me begin by thanking all hon. Members for their contributions. I will take a few moments to respond to some of the points raised and then to set out the Government’s view on the proposed new clauses.

The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild), addressed new clause 8, which was tabled by the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride). I will come to the new clause in a moment, but for the avoidance of doubt let me reassure the shadow Minister that higher education and teaching English as a foreign language are both exempt from and not affected by this policy. I also reassure him that HMRC stands ready to support schools. It has already published bespoke guidance for schools, run webinars, updated registration systems and put additional resources in place to process applications.

Farming and Inheritance Tax

Lewis Cocking Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Broxbourne is not known for its farms, but this year’s boundary changes have seen my agricultural land increase. This tax will also affect thousands of my constituents through the supply chain and buying food at supermarkets. However, I want to concentrate on something we keep hearing from Labour Members. We are told that the farmers represented by Opposition MPs or Conservative MPs are completely against the policy, and we are told time and again by Labour Members, as a number have stood up to say today, that they have spoken to their farmers, who seem happy about it, and they are going to vote with the Government. So I thought I would go out there and put that to the test.

As I have said, my seat has had boundary changes and farms have moved into my constituency. If this one farm had remained in the original seat before the general election, it would now be represented by a Labour Member, but it is not: it moved into my constituency and it is represented by a Conservative Member. I asked this farmer, when I went to visit them, if they are completely against this policy. They said, “Yep, absolutely, Lewis. This will destroy our family farm.” I asked them if, pre-boundary changes, they were in their old seat and had a Labour Member of Parliament, their view would still be the same. They said to me, “Don’t be so silly, Lewis; of course it would be the same.” So I do not understand which farmers Labour Members are speaking to, because their views cannot be different from the views of my farmers. Thousands of them from across the country, including my constituency and the wider Hertfordshire area, came to Westminster to show their displeasure with the Government, so will Labour Members please think again, vote with us today and stand up for their farmers?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call the shadow Minister.

Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Exemptions

Lewis Cocking Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Caroline. The Turnford school was a secondary school in decline in my constituency of Broxbourne: academic standards were poor, and the school had never received a satisfactory rating from Ofsted. But thanks to a unique partnership with Haileybury, an independent school also in my constituency, the tide began to turn. In 2015, the Turnford school was relaunched as Haileybury Turnford school, with Haileybury the sole sponsor. A generous annual improvement grant worth £200,000 a year was established —to date, £1.2 million has been given to the state school—and other wraparound support was provided, including for teaching staff and kids with SEND. In 2022, for the first time in its history, Haileybury Turnford School was judged to be good.

Ministers think this policy will impact only on the rich, but, for nearly a decade, a genuinely working-class community in the Cheshunt and Turnford area has benefited from the state and independent sectors working together. I therefore urge the Government—I would like to hear from the Minister today on this—to allow independent schools to offset the financial support and resources they provide to state schools against their VAT liability.

Winter Fuel Payment

Lewis Cocking Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

In my first speech in this Chamber, I assured the House than my nan would keep me on my toes. Even before the cut to the winter fuel payment had hit the news headlines, she was on the phone to me to sort it out. My nan is one of 15,000 pensioners in Broxbourne who will end up losing £300 a year—a vital sum of money that would help them to keep their homes warm this winter. The Government’s priorities are clearly dictated by their union paymasters, so I am tempted to advise my nan to start her own pensioners’ union. If there were one, I am sure that pensioners would have seen their winter fuel payments go up rather than be abolished.

When we put the Chancellor’s decision into context, it is even more staggering. Labour’s deals with the unions, which have cost the taxpayer £14 billion, will see the average salary of train drivers, who are already well paid, rise from £60,000 to £70,000 a year. Help for heating bills is being taken away from the elderly, but the energy price cap is going up by 10% in a few weeks’ time—a double blow for pensioners. Was making it more expensive for pensioners to heat their homes in Labour’s manifesto? It was not. In fact, we were told that Labour would slash fuel poverty and save families hundreds of pounds. That is yet another broken promise, and Labour has been in power for only 10 weeks.

My nan is not the only one to have got in touch with me about this; I have been inundated with letters and emails from hundreds of constituents. Winter is coming, and I strongly urge the Government to change course.