Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas

Patricia Ferguson Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Wishart. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) on securing today’s important debate.

I represent a very urban constituency, but I also chair the Scottish Affairs Committee and we have been looking at this issue as part of an inquiry into Scotland’s high streets. I do not have to tell you, Mr Wishart, that many Scottish communities are rural and/or remote. It is also important to note that Scotland’s population is older, relative to the UK average, and that in many areas, access to reliable internet at a decent speed is extremely poor, if it exists at all. Those factors are clearly very significant, but The Herald reported earlier this summer that three in four bank branches in Scotland have closed in the last decade. For remote and rural areas, that means, as we have heard, lengthy journeys and unreliable travel connections to access alternative branches—often for people who cannot easily move to online banking. We have heard from Members whose constituents are travelling more than 100 miles to get to the nearest bank to access the kinds of services that they used to be able to get locally.

UK Finance responded to our concerns by noting that only 2% of the UK population rely exclusively on in-person branches to do their banking, but it was unable to provide us with an equivalent figure specifically for rural Scotland. We were also disappointed at its very poor understanding of how much further—

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

The metropolis of Gairloch in Wester Ross—[Laughter.] It is a major town, I will have you know. It has seen its only bank closed, and Dingwall has seen its bank closed, so people have to travel two hours, each way, to get to Inverness city, and there is only one bus a day. That is bringing the town to its knees, and it is happening up and down the west coast. Does the hon. Member agree that this sort of thing is an enormous reason why we are seeing such major depopulation in remote areas?

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[Patricia Ferguson]

The hon. Member makes a very valid point. I know that this issue concerns him greatly, because he has spoken to me about it on many occasions. There is an issue, as has been mentioned, about access to cash. Access to cash is important, but access to wider banking services is also crucial—something that Link acknowledged to us.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

In my constituency, 89% of my banks have closed in the last 10 years. Alongside that, this year, Barclays has said that it will withdraw its banking van, which has helped to contribute to the provision of face-to-face banking for my constituents. Does the hon. Lady share my frustration and agree that banks need to do better?

[Patricia Ferguson]

If I can speak for colleagues, I think that that would be the conclusion of everyone in the room.

Importantly, our Committee asked witnesses what they would like to come from the Government’s review. I will briefly run through those points: a clear definition for what reasonable access to in-person banking services looks like, with consideration for geography and a minimum service level for consumers and small businesses, and a clear definition of what basic services should be offered in any in-person banking facility. They also wanted further investment in the banking hubs model so that it can provide more support to customers; for example, enhanced video links would allow customers to speak with specialist advisers who might not be able to travel to the region. That is not a panacea, but those steps might be helpful and I hope that the Minister will address them in her response.