Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how may members of credit unions there are, by region of the UK.

According to the latest data on credit unions published by the Prudential Regulation Authority, the membership of credit unions in the first quarter of 2020 by region of the UK is given below:

Neither HM Treasury, the Prudential Regulation Authority nor the Financial Conduct Authority collect information on the membership of credit unions on a local level. The data on overall credit union membership is available online and can be found here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news?NewsTypes=571948d14c6943f7b5b7748ad80bef29&Taxonomies=5de036cac1ff46b49b8ac98c266de410&InfiniteScrolling=False&Direction=Latest

In order to offer mortgage products, a credit union must hold special mortgage permissions. Any credit union can apply for these permissions, providing that they can demonstrate they can meet the requirements set out by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgage lenders. Credit unions also need to comply with the maximum loan value limits set out by the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Currently, 4 UK credit unions hold mortgage permissions. These are Glasgow Credit Union, ScotWest Credit Union, Capital Credit Union and No1 Copperpot Credit Union. The first three are based in Scotland, while membership of No1 CopperPot Credit Union is open to UK police officers and staff. In total, these credit unions have approximately over 140,000 members. We are unable to provide data on the membership of the individual credit unions.