Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with LINK on the criteria used to assess communities for Banking Hubs in towns such as Larkhall.

Under the statutory access to cash regime, LINK is the coordination body for cash access arrangements and undertakes cash access assessments. Where an assessment identifies a gap, LINK determines the additional cash access service required, which may include a banking hub.

When asked to carry out a cash access assessment, LINK takes into consideration a wide range of criteria, including those unique to each location, such as the size and vulnerability of the population, existing and remaining cash access facilities and the number of shops. Specifically, LINK takes into consideration population demographics, public transport links and whether it is reasonable for people to travel to nearby facilities, including the actual travel distance. LINK uses a catchment area of 3 miles in rural locations and 1 mile in urban areas and considers if there is a significant impact on nearby towns.