Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of co-locating community banking representatives within post offices.

Banks provide access to in‑person banking services through a range of channels, including branches, banking hubs and post offices.

Some banks also provide access to community bankers through pop‑up services in locations such as libraries and community centres, or via mobile banking vans serving rural and remote areas. Community bankers are bank employees who provide face-to-face support to customers in local communities outside a traditional branch, helping with banking queries and access to further support as needed. Decisions about where such services are located are commercial matters for individual banks.

The retail banking sector provides everyday banking services at post offices through the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement that enables personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check balances and pay bills at over 10,500 Post Office branches across the UK.

The Government supports initiatives that help customers access banking services in ways that reflect local needs, alongside digital provision.

In January, the Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury convened a roundtable with the Post Office and the banking sector to facilitate discussion on where further collaboration would allow all parties to better meet the needs of people and businesses.

The Government supports collaboration between banks and the Post Office, while being clear that this must be achieved on a voluntary and commercial basis.