Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the role Post Office branches can play in maintaining access to (a) face-to-face banking services and (b) cash in Royal Sutton Coldfield.

The Government recognises the importance of access to cash and banking services for individuals and businesses, including in Royal Sutton Coldfield. Cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, and the Government is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.

The Government is also 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, including the digitally excluded. 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 Government intends to use the Financial Services and Markets Bill to introduce a power to allow action to be taken in future to protect access to banking services, should the evidence support intervention.