Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure access to banking services for Ukrainian refugees.

The Government believes that it is vital that everyone, including Ukrainian refugees, can access the banking services they need. That’s why the nine largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to customers who are “unbanked”, so people can manage their money on a day-to-day basis effectively, securely, and confidently.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Government worked closely with banks and building societies to ensure that Ukrainian nationals were able to quickly and easily open bank accounts. The Government also ensured that Money Helper, a service set up by the Government to provide free and impartial information and advice on money matters, had clear instructions in Ukrainian and Russian on how to open a UK bank account.

According to the latest data from UK Finance, over 70,000 Ukrainian people in the UK have opened a basic bank account.