Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to maintain the provision of free-to-use ATMs in Portsmouth South constituency.

The government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups or who are reliant on cash as a payment method.

The government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect free access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of free cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. This will help prevent financial exclusion for those who are reliant on access to cash.

The government published a policy statement earlier this year. This stated that consideration should be taken of the degree to which services meet local needs in relation to both business and personal use. The government’s policy statement is available at: Cash Access Policy Statement.

The FCA is currently holding a consultation on its proposed regulatory approach, ahead of this coming into effect by Q3 2024: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/consultation-papers/cp23-29-access-cash