Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the criteria used by LINK when determining whether a community should receive a banking hub; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that communities which have lost access to high street banking services are able to access face-to-face banking.

Under the statutory access to cash regime, LINK is the coordination body for cash access arrangements and undertakes cash access assessments. Where an assessment identifies a gap, LINK determines the additional cash access service required, which may include a banking hub.

When asked to carry out a cash access assessment, LINK takes into consideration a wide range of criteria, including those unique to each location, such as the size and vulnerability of the population, existing and remaining cash access facilities and the number of shops. Specifically, LINK takes into consideration population demographics, public transport links and whether it is reasonable for people to travel to nearby facilities, including the actual travel distance. LINK uses a catchment area of 3 miles in rural locations and 1 mile in urban areas and considers if there is a significant impact on nearby towns

Where a resident, community organisation or other interested party feels access to cash in their community is insufficient, they can submit a request for a cash access assessment. LINK’s access to cash assessment process can be found on its website. If LINK determines that no further cash solutions are required, any member of the public can ask LINK to review their decision within 28 days of the original assessment, stressing their concerns. If the member of the public remains dissatisfied after this step, the matter may be referred to the Independent Assessor.

There are currently no existing legislative or regulatory protections for the provision of access to in-person banking services. That is why on 14 May, the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services to assess the impact of changes in the provision of in-person banking services. The Review will examine whether changes to access to in person banking services are causing consumer detriment and the scale of any detriment. Alongside the Review, the Financial Services and Markets Bill includes a power to allow the Government to take action in future to protect access to banking services, should this be necessary. This power ensures the Government can act swiftly and proportionately, including through future regulation, if the evidence from the Review supports intervention.

The Government understands the importance of banking services to communities, including those in rural and coastal areas and market towns, and continues to work closely with industry to support the roll-out of 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 280 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 240 are already open across the UK.