Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Access to Banking Services Review is examining geographical disparities in face-to-face banking provision; and whether Post Office branches could be used to address any such gaps.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services across the UK.

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 those who cannot use digital banking. The Review is considering these questions across the whole of the UK, including in rural and urban communities.

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.