Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a recent assessment of (a) the effectiveness of his Department's policies for supporting access to cash in rural areas and (b) the potential impact of rurality on access to cash.

While the convenience, security, and speed of digital payments brings opportunities to the businesses and individuals that use them, the government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK.

The government is currently taking legislation through Parliament as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill to protect access to cash across the UK. The Bill will establish the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provide it with appropriate powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.

The Bill requires the Treasury to publish a policy statement that sets out the government’s policy on cash access services. This may include policy with respect to urban and rural areas. The FCA will be required to have regard to the Treasury’s policy statement when exercising its regulatory powers. In addition, the FCA will be able to exercise its powers in order to address local deficiencies specifically in the provision of access to cash facilities that it has identified and considers to be significant. The government’s view is that this will allow for consideration of local circumstances in all parts of the UK, such as those in rural areas.

Further details about the Financial Services and Markets Bill can be found on the Parliament website: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3326