Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of high street bank branch closures on people in Gosport constituency.

The Government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking services. Nonetheless, decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue for banks and building societies. The Government does not intervene in these decisions or make direct assessments of these branch networks.

Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on the everyday banking and cash access needs of their customers and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.

Alternative options for access to banking can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

New shared banking hubs are also being introduced, providing basic banking services and dedicated space where community bankers from major banks can meet customers of that bank.  Following successful pilots Cash Access UK Ltd is rolling out shared banking hubs and other new shared facilities in communities across the UK. To date, industry has committed to deliver Banking Hubs in 80 locations. Further information on Banking Hubs is available at: https://www.cashaccess.co.uk/

Regarding access to cash, LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network) has commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs and is held to account against these commitments by the Payment Systems Regulator. LINK has committed to protect free-to-use ATMs more than one kilometre away from the next nearest free ATM or Post Office, and free access to cash on high streets that do not have a free-to-use ATM or a Post Office counter within one kilometre. Furthermore, LINK operates a scheme to enable communities with poor access to cash to request an ATM.

LINK publishes the total number of free-to-use and pay-to-use ATMs across the UK on a regular basis. LINK’s Monthly ATM Footprint Report also publishes information on the break down by constituency. Further information is available on LINK’s website: https://www.link.co.uk/

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 provides the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash access services. The FCA is currently developing its approach and will consult in due course.