Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of bank branch closures in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Tamworth in the last five years; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure people have reasonable access to local banking services.

This question was answered on 17th October 2022
The way people bank in the UK continues to develop at pace, with more consumers and businesses than ever enjoying the convenience, security, and speed of digital banking. In 2021, 86% of UK adults used a form of remote banking, such as an app, online or on the phone. Banking customers have never had more choice in how they fit their banking into their everyday lives.

The Government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking services. However, 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.

As part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022, the Government has introduced legislation to protect access to cash. The Bill protects access to cash by establishing the Financial Conduct Authority as the lead regulator and providing it with appropriate powers to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities. The powers provided to the Financial Conduct Authority relate to cash access only and do not extend to the provision of wider banking services.