Stuart Anderson
Main Page: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)Department Debates - View all Stuart Anderson's debates with the HM Treasury
Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas
Stuart Anderson Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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Caroline Voaden
I will get to banking hubs in just a minute.
Why do we allow closures to happen? Why do the Government not act with urgency to turn around the decimation in rural banking, which has the biggest impact on the most vulnerable people—the elderly, the disabled—those who cannot use online services and areas where digital connectivity is so bad that using online services can literally be impossible? It is simply outrageous that banks have been able to get away with this to such an extent and at such speed. I call on the Labour Government to address the issue with urgency.
People still want to use in-person banking services, even young people and those who already bank online: 81% of UK adults say that they have accessed in-person banking services at least once in the past two years, while 48% say they have accessed in-person banking services every month. It is simply not true that everyone is happy to bank online all the time.
Stuart Anderson (South Shropshire) (Con)
In a remote area such as South Shropshire, just over half of my constituents have high-speed internet, so face-to-face banking is absolutely important. We have seen the issue in Bridgnorth, Church Stretton and Ludlow. Does the hon. Lady agree that the Government have to take that into consideration? It is not one size fits all.