Bank Closures and Banking Hubs

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Thursday 5th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jo Platt (Leigh and Atherton) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) for bringing this really important debate to this House, and I think we speak with one voice on this particular issue. We both represent post-industrial towns, and we can both see the decline of our high streets.

Banks have long been pillars of our high street in supporting local businesses, sustaining jobs, and driving regional growth and economic stability. In an increasingly digital age of contactless payments and banking apps, it is easy to underestimate the value of physical bank branches in our town centres. With the ongoing closure of trusted high street banks, many communities are being left isolated and underserved, so banking hubs can provide vital in-person services, particularly for older residents, those with long-term health conditions and people at risk of economic abuse. I feel that we need to speak further about this subject and I will write to the Minister, because economic abuse and financial inclusion are really big issues.

Organisations such as Link play a key role in supporting the transition to a digital economy, having committed to ensuring 98% of people have reasonable access to free cash services. However, this commitment does not go far enough for areas such as Atherton and Golborne—two places with ageing populations, active local businesses and expanding communities. In Golborne, 18.6% of residents are over 65, the second-highest area in the Wigan borough. Atherton, with a busy train station and a thriving night-time economy, still has no remaining bank. Significant housing developments in both areas are further increasing demand for financial services, yet the infrastructure continues to shrink. Atherton residents often travel to Leigh for banking, leaving their own town centre with declining footfall and empty retail units. Although evidence-based proposals for banking hubs have been made, recent Link assessments did not recommend any new cash services in our area, leaving people excluded and unheard. Will the Minister confirm whether the Government are reviewing the assessment process to ensure that such communities are properly heard and their needs fully met?

In looking to the future, I urge the Government to consider the inclusion of credit unions, a co-operative model of banking such as the Unify credit union in my constituency, as part of their wider financial inclusion strategy.

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

A point that has not yet been made is the importance of credit unions and access to responsible lending. One thing that people can do at a high street bank but cannot do at a banking hub is get a loan, so I am grateful to the hon. Member for mentioning credit unions. In my area, Nationwide on the A6 in Hazel Grove has shut, which is having a massive impact on what people can do beyond access to cash.

[Jo Platt]

I agree with the hon. Member, and Unify credit union in my constituency does give out loans in an ethical way to community organisations and people who are struggling.

Banking hubs are not just about financial transactions; they are also about sustaining the health, growth and regeneration of our towns. Let us ensure that we are protecting the digitally excluded, supporting the financially vulnerable and doing everything possible to keep our high streets alive.

Regional Growth

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

I warmly welcome the news that the tram is finally coming to Stockport. I have also warmly welcomed that announcement every time it has been made previously, so I am delighted that the Chief Secretary will deliver it. My hon. Friend the Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) rightly acknowledges the sterling campaigning that has been done by businesses, residents and elected politicians over many years. This is how we get things done in Greater Manchester: on a cross-party basis. Will the Chief Secretary assure my local authority colleagues on Stockport council that the money is ready to go? They are as keen as mustard to crack on and deliver the project so we can get on with the next phase, which is a tram-train to Marple, from which my Hazel Grove residents will really benefit.

[Darren Jones]

The funding announced today is in the spending review timeframe—it will be available from 2026-27 onwards—while the money that we allocated at the Budget last year for this fiscal year will continue to be spent.

We are all exasperated by announcements being made by politicians and spades never getting into the ground. I am sure the hon. Lady is now experiencing a difference. Compared with the false promises of the Conservative party, which were made in the past and never delivered, not only have we found the money and allocated it, because of the Chancellor’s decisions, but the hon. Lady will see spades going into the ground and transport in her community being improved for real.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

The hon. Lady will know that in the Budget, at a cost of about £1.5 billion, we were able to extend business rates relief, which was due to end entirely under the plans we had inherited from the Conservative party. As she will also know, we are reforming the way in which business rates work so that there are permanently lower rates for hospitality and retail sectors, particularly on our high streets.

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

4. What progress she has made on updating the Green Book.

[Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Lab)]

12. What comparative assessment she has made of the potential impact of rules for assessing value for money in public spending on levels of funding allocated in the south-east and the north of England.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)]

In January, I announced a review of the Green Book to ensure that it is supporting fair, objective and transparent advice on public investment across the country, and I am working closely with our mayors, particularly Steve Rotheram, who has championed this issue. Since January, the Treasury has been in conversation with over 70 different organisations and individuals regionally and nationally to identify areas where we can make changes to the Green Book and champion investment in the north of England.

[Lisa Smart]

Bear with me on this, Mr Speaker. The previous Conservative Government did not get absolutely everything wrong. They rightly identified that Treasury spending was a powerful tool to rebalance our economy in favour of areas like ours in the north of England. They then failed to deliver, and voters delivered their verdict at the ballot box. This Government have the opportunity to use this powerful tool and ensure that regional disparities are not further entrenched when they look at the Green Book. What reassurance can the Chancellor give my constituents that projects such as repairing Stepping Hill hospital, or bringing the tram-train to Marple, will get a fair crack of the Treasury spending whip?

[Rachel Reeves]

I totally agree with the hon. Lady. The plans that we inherited from the Conservative party saw capital spending decline as a share of GDP, which is totally the wrong decision if we want to grow the economy and improve prospects in towns and cities across the north of England. Over the course of this Parliament, we are putting £113 billion more into capital spending so that we can build the road and rail infrastructure, the energy infrastructure, the digital infrastructure and the housing that our country desperately needs. Under our reforms to the Green Book, we will make sure that we get more investment to the places that need it, including towns and cities in the north of England.

--- Later in debate ---

[Rachel Reeves]

I very much agree, but what is truly extraordinary is that the Conservatives, Reform and the Scottish National party have voted against or abstained on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and they do not support any of the trade deals that we have secured to support working people in our country.

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

T5. My Hazel Grove constituents are content to pay their fair share of tax, but they are understandably disappointed when His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs overcharges and then ghosts them. Gail from Romiley is a foster carer who was owed a tax repayment. She repeatedly contacted HMRC over a nine-month period, but it was only when my superstar casework team got involved that she got a £1,200 rebate. What assurance can Ministers give my constituents that HMRC is adequately resourced to give them the support they need to pay their fair share of tax?

[James Murray]

I am sorry to hear about the experience of the hon. Lady’s constituent. To reassure her and her constituent, one of my priorities as chair of the HMRC board is to improve HMRC’s day-to-day performance. We have seen the percentage of telephony adviser attempts handled go from 59% last March to 80% this March. It will remain a priority for me to modernise and digitise the service.

Employer National Insurance Contributions

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

I will talk in particular about two organisations in my constituency that have contacted me about the subject we are debating. For context, we know that small businesses have had a tough time for a number of years. They have been struggling with rising prices, interest rates and input costs going up. They were absolutely hammered by the previous Conservative Government, who broke their promise to reform business rates, trapped them under a mountain of red tape and made it much harder and more expensive to trade internationally. Making things harder for small businesses and their workers just is not right. They are the lifeblood of our economy and are exactly where we should be looking for the growth we all need. When we are talking about small businesses, we are also talking about community pharmacies, hospices and GP practices, all of which will be impacted by this tax rise.

We on the Liberal Democrat Benches are particularly worried, as the House would imagine, about the impact of these tax rises on our health and social care sector. We are worried about what it means for social care providers, for the families who depend on them and for the local councils that have to find the funding for many of them. Raising the employment allowance will shield only the very smallest, leaving thousands of small organisations still negatively affected.

In the Chief Secretary’s opening remarks, he asked for ideas about where else he might find some tax revenue. I really encourage him, and indeed all Government Members, to reread the 2024 Lib Dem manifesto—I am sure they have read it at least once. As my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) laid out from our Front Bench, the Government could reverse the tax cuts that the previous Government gave to the big banks, reform capital gains tax so that it is applied in a much fairer way, and charge the gambling giants more so that they pay their fair share.

I turn to the two organisations in my constituency. A childcare company got in touch because, like many early years settings, it allocates 70% of its revenue to staff wages, and annual increases to the national living wage combined with the increase in NICs will make it impossible to pay for rent, staff improvement and training. That will just make the staffing crisis worse, which is the exact opposite of what the Government say they want.

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that businesses such as Sheppy’s cider farm in my constituency, to which I invite all Members to come to enjoy a pint of cider, will be affected not just by the national insurance rises but by the change in business rates and the family farm tax?

[Lisa Smart]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. Sadly, I have not yet tried the wares of Sheppy’s cider farm, but I would welcome the opportunity to visit, try those wares and support it as we all need to do in the face of these changes, which affect everyone.

The second organisation is one of my GP practices, which emailed me. It operates as a legal partnership, as it has done since the inception of the NHS, but as it is a GP practice it lacks flexibility to absorb the increased costs. It cannot raise prices and it cannot do more than it is already doing and drive up activity levels. As it is designated as a public authority but does not get an employment allowance exemption, it will bear the full cost of the impact. It tells me that the rise in national insurance and the lowering of the thresholds will force it into reductions in clinical staffing, adversely impact patient care and increase waiting times. That is exactly the opposite of what the Government say they want.

[Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)]

The hon. Lady made that point powerfully. I have spoken to a GP surgery in my constituency that will have to cut seven members of staff, including a GP, a nurse, a social prescriber, a pharmacist and others providing ancillary services. These changes will affect not just her constituents and my constituents but every single constituency in the country, because every single GP practice will have the same problem.

[Lisa Smart]

I completely agree with the hon. Member’s point. All Members across the House want to see our NHS thrive and to see the healthcare and social care that our constituents deserve. I urge the Government to think again about their plans.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

In Harpenden and Berkhamsted we have the Elms medical practice, which has said it is dedicated to the NHS and wants to serve people but is facing these difficulties. It is asking the Government to rethink their choice on national insurance. This is about those who want to serve and our constituents who need them.

[Lisa Smart]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. We will all have had constituents and organisations contact us because they are really worried about the impact that these changes will have.

I do not think that the Government intentionally set out to make life more difficult for GPs, and I do not think that they intentionally set out with their Budget to make life more difficult for pharmacies, for hospices or for dental practices, but we need to speak up for constituents who contact us to say that if the Government want to keep the cost of childcare from rising and constituents to be able to access a GP appointment in a timely manner, they need to think again about this rise. I urge them to do so.

Financial Services: Mansion House Speech

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Tulip Siddiq]

I know that my hon. Friend takes a keen interest in this area—she been talking about it for the 25 years that I have known her. We agree that it is important. The FCA and the PRA are required to have regard to the UK’s net zero emissions target, as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. The Mansion House speech set out the Government’s next steps to deliver a world-leading sustainable finance framework. That will be a huge part of our financial services strategy, as part of the industrial strategy, next spring. I urge her to consult and feed in on that.

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

I speak as a former trustee of a local authority pension fund. Much of the correspondence that I received from pension fund members was not about the returns that they received, but about the investments they were in but could not choose to come out of because it was a defined benefits scheme. I appreciate that the review is ongoing, but can the Minister confirm that any review will consider retaining the autonomy of local authorities in deciding not to invest—whether in companies, countries or sectors—for environmental, social and governance reasons?

[Tulip Siddiq]

The consultation is ongoing, but I repeat that each administering authority will retain control over impactful decisions by setting out investment objectives and strategic asset allocation, and they will have control over their pooled assets. The Minister for Pensions will be happy to meet the hon. Lady should she wish to discuss that further. As the hon. Lady said herself, the consultation is ongoing, so she may wish to wait until after it is complete.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

I championed this issue in the last Parliament as Chair of the Business and Trade Committee. I am pleased to confirm that I am working with colleagues across Government to make progress, and I will update the House further in due course.

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

T6. Stories of crumbling public infrastructure are all too common. Stepping Hill hospital in Hazel Grove has had to close buildings because their condition was no longer deemed safe, and we have seen footage of medics having to wade through flooded corridors when pipes have burst. The allocated capital money simply cannot cover the repairs backlog. How will the Chancellor ensure that hospitals such as Stepping Hill can access the capital investment they need both to repair crumbling buildings and to deliver additional sites where needed?

[Darren Jones]

The Government are reviewing the new hospitals programme as part of our spending review. We will undertake a full and comprehensive review while continuing to deliver the most advanced and most urgent hospitals in a realistic timeframe.