Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England who do not have a bank account.

The Government recognises the continued importance of access to banking.

The Financial Conduct Authority conducts a biennial Financial Lives Survey of 16,000 adults which provides a comprehensive insight into the finances of the UK population. The latest findings from the survey were published in February 2021. They showed that in February 2020 1.2 million adults were considered ‘unbanked’, defined as adults without a current account or an alternative e-money account. The Government does not have data broken down by area.

The Government is also committed to improving access to financial services and recognises that access to a transactional bank account is key to enabling people to manage their money on a day-to-day basis effectively, securely and confidently. The nine largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account or who are not eligible for a bank’s standard current account.