Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made in ensuring access to cash in (a) Burslem and (b) England.

The Government recognises that cash remains important to millions of people across the UK and has committed to protecting access to cash for those that need it. The Government published a Call for Evidence on 15 October 2020 seeking views on the key considerations associated with cash access, including deposit and withdrawal facilities, cash acceptance, and regulatory oversight of the cash system. The Call for Evidence closed on the 25 November 2020 and the Government is considering responses. Next steps will be set out in due course.

With regards to ATMs, LINK (the scheme that runs the UK’s largest ATM network) has existing commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs. LINK has taken action to ensure that remote and deprived areas continue to have access to free-to-use machines, and the Payment Systems Regulator continues to hold LINK to account over their commitments to maintain broad geographic coverage.

LINK has committed to protect free ATMs more than one kilometre away from the next nearest free ATM or Post Office, for example through premium payments for ATMs in remote and deprived areas. LINK has also committed to protecting free access to cash on high streets – where there is a cluster of five or more retailers – that don’t have a free-to-use ATM or a Post Office counter within one kilometre. LINK’s members have also made £5 million available to fund ATMs at the request of communities with poor access to cash.

Furthermore, there is an industry led initiative to implement Community Access to Cash Pilots. These pilots are to trial and test solutions for ensuring that communities can conveniently withdraw and deposit cash, and identify ways basic banking services can be better delivered, that could be adopted in other locations. Nine places were selected across the UK for these pilots, of which Burslem is one. The Burslem pilot includes a Post Office refurbishment and testing cashback without a purchase. The Government looks forward to the outcomes of these pilots.