Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on UK building societies; and if he will make a statement.

The Government recognises the vital role of credit unions in the financial wellbeing of their communities, providing an ethical home for their members’ savings, and affordable loans to those who may otherwise have to resort to high-cost lenders. The Government also recognises the important role played by building societies in supporting their local communities, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, I wrote to building society and credit union trade bodies to thank frontline staff for their efforts to continue to provide essential services to their members.

HM Treasury has regularly engaged with regulators and representatives from the building society and credit union sectors to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have engaged with representatives from both sectors through the Consumer Finance Forum and Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, which are bringing financial services and consumer group representatives together to discuss how to best support people through this period. I also attended a roundtable of building society chief executives hosted by the Building Societies Association in July 2020, to discuss experiences of COVID-19 and future priorities. HM Treasury officials have also been engaging with the Building Society Association on a regular basis to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss the application of relevant measures to the sector.

Fair4All Finance, the independent body set up by Government to distribute dormant assets funding to support financial inclusion, has also set up a £5 million resilience fund to support credit unions and community development finance institutions in England.