Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of whether the post office network will have the capacity to meet any increase in demand for banking services after the closure of a number of RBS and NatWest bank branches; and if he will make a statement.

The Government is committed to improving access to financial services for all consumers and small businesses in the UK.

99% of UK personal bank accounts and 95% of small business accounts can be accessed to withdraw cash and deposit cash and cheques over the counter in any of the UK’s network of over 11,600 post offices. It is the operational responsibility of the Post Office to meet its contractual obligations under the agreement it has with the banks to provide banking services.