Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of the Post Office network hosting community banking representatives to provide in-person access to more complex banking services.

As set out in the Government’s Green Paper, the role of Post Office is changing, fuelled by significant changes in Post Office’s markets. Government will continue facilitating discussions around the future of cash and banking services, as demonstrated by the recent joint discussions held between the Post Office and the banking sector. The Department for Business and Trade will also work across government to explore opportunities to improve and enhance the delivery of in-person government services, and we have established a cross-government working group for this purpose. However, Post Office’s services are ultimately a commercial matter for the organisation and its partners.