Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ensuring that people are able to access free-to-use cash machines throughout Scotland.

I have regular discussions on important Scottish economic matters with my Cabinet colleagues, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Technology has transformed banking for millions of people, but we know that many still rely on cash. That is why we are co-ordinating work across government, regulators and industry so we can protect access for everyone who needs it.

LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s ATM network, has publicly committed to maintain the broad geographic spread of ATMs and has put in place specific arrangements to protect remote free-to-use ATMs one kilometre or further from the next nearest free-to-use ATM. More recently, LINK has committed to protecting free access to cash on high streets – where there is a cluster of five or more retailers – that do not have a free-to-use ATM or a Post Office counter within 1 kilometre.