Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the number of communities of 5,000 people or more in England where there is no bank branch within a radius of three miles.

The Government does not hold the information requested.

Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy. Decisions on the opening and closing of individual branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.

The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, each participating bank has committed to carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch, including the preparation of meaningful local impact assessments. There is a commitment to a review of the operation of the protocol after one year, and the Government looks forward to its conclusions.

The availability of alternative locations for accessing basic banking services is also important. The ongoing negotiation between the banks and the Post Office to agree a standard set of services – to be made available to personal and small business banking customers at Post Office counters across the country – remains vital. The Government is clear that completion of these negotiations should be a priority.