Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a regulator with sole responsibility for cash infrastructure to ensure continued access to physical money.

The UK has well-established world-class regulators overseeing financial services.

The Government established the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) with a statutory duty to ensure that payment systems work well for those who use them. As part of this, the PSR regulates LINK, the scheme which runs the UK’s ATM network, and is closely monitoring developments within ATM provision.

LINK has committed to maintain the broad geographical coverage of the ATM network in the UK. The PSR has used its powers to hold LINK to account over its commitments and to ensure LINK reports to it on a regular basis.