Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Community Access to Cash Pilots operating in Post Office branches.

The Community Access to Cash Pilots are an industry-led initiative taking place in nine locations across the UK. These pilots are to trial and test sustainable 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.

The pilots include 3 ‘banking hubs’ in dedicated retail spaces on the high street, which combine the cash-transaction facilities of a Post Office with access to community banking services offered by the key retail banks. The locations for these trialling this service are Ampthill in Bedfordshire, Rochford in Essex and Cambuslang near Glasgow.

The Government welcomes these initiatives and looks forward to the outcomes of these pilots.