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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department is providing to Post Office Ltd to help (a) maintain and (b) increase the number of ATMs in Post Office branches.

The Government recognises that widespread access to cash remains extremely important in the context of bank closures, particularly for the more vulnerable and remote customers and businesses. The Government supports the renegotiated Banking Framework agreement, which is a three-year agreement and took effect in January 2020. This agreement enables 99% of personal banking customers and 95% of business banking customers to do their day-to-day banking at the Post Office, including cash withdrawals.

In addition, LINK, the main provider of ATMs in the UK, has assured Government that they are committed to maintaining an extensive network of free-to-use cash machines, including via Post Offices, and bolstering its Financial Inclusion Programme.