Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of using existing public infrastructure, such as the Post Office network, to expand the provision of in-person banking support.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services. That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who it affects. The Review will consider access to in-person banking services for both personal and business customers.

As part of this, the Review will consider existing forms of in-person banking provision. The Post Office provides banking services through over 10,000 branches via the Banking Framework agreement and, as such, the provision of services by the Post Office on behalf of banks will be considered as part of the Review.

Alongside the Review, the Financial Services and Markets Bill includes a power to allow the Government to take action in future to protect access to banking services, should this be necessary. This power ensures the Government can act swiftly and proportionately, including through future regulation, if the evidence from the Review supports intervention.