Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance he has provided to banks on the opening of new (a) personal, (b) business, and (c) charity accounts in (i) Tier 1, (ii) Tier 2, and (c) Tier 3 covid-19 restriction areas.

The Government recognises that bank and building society branches continue to play an important role in providing access to banking for individuals, businesses and charities, including for those who either do not have access to digital services or require specialist support. The Government has worked with the financial regulators and the industry to ensure that personal, business and charity customers can continue to access bank branches for essential services, including opening accounts, in all Covid-19 restriction tiers. The vast majority of branches have remained open throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

For personal account customers, the 9 largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account in the UK or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account. Throughout Covid-19, designated providers have continued to offer basic bank accounts.

Unprecedented demand for services has meant banks have faced significant capacity pressures which has limited their ability to meet demand, for business bank accounts in particular. Banks are doing all they can to meet this demand in these difficult circumstances.