Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of standardising cash and banking services in the next iteration of the Banking Framework between Post Office and the banking industry.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking and access to cash, including vulnerable customers and those with specific needs, can continue to access essential services. That is why, as announced on the 14 May, the Government is commissioning an independent Review into Access to Banking Services.

The Review will identify who is affected by declining access to in-person banking services and how many people are affected. It will also look at what kinds of banking services are important for people to be able to access. The Review is designed to inform future decisions by the Government and regulators as to whether further action is needed and what this might look like, and the Government intends to take a power in the upcoming Financial Services and Markets Bill to take action should this be necessary.

The Government remains committed to supporting the financial services industry’s roll-out of 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. Importantly, this number is a floor, not a ceiling, and Cash Access UK will deliver a banking hub wherever LINK has recommended one.

The Post Office plays a key role in supporting access to banking services. Under the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement between the Post Office and 30 banking firms, most personal and business customers can withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at over 10,500 Post Office branches across the UK, subject to banks’ commercial agreements on services provided. The Government protects the Post Office network by setting minimum access criteria. These include ensuring that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a Post Office and 90% of the population within one mile.

On 21 January, the Government held joint discussions between the Post Office and the banking sector to explore where continued collaboration, on a commercial and voluntary basis, would allow all parties to better meet the needs of individuals and businesses.

The specific services provided under the Framework are subject to commercial negotiations between individual banks and the Post Office, and the Government has no formal role in deciding what these arrangements are.