Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of LINK’s banking hub criteria for market towns.

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets in market towns and across the UK, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 230 hubs have been announced so far, and over 160 are already open.

Where a branch closure is announced or a community has submitted a cash access assessment request, LINK, the independent industry coordinating body responsible for making access to cash assessments, assesses a community’s access to cash needs. LINK will recommend appropriate solutions where it considers that a community requires additional cash services, such as a banking hub or deposit service.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require LINK to consider a range of factors in their assessments which will account for challenges in cash access faced by market towns. For example, firms are required to consider the actual travel times and costs to reach cash access facilities and identify gaps in provision where these are unreasonable, which may be particularly the case in rural areas.

LINK also takes into account local population demographics and levels of vulnerability within the community. The criteria also assess whether there is likely to be seasonal demand for cash, which may be the case in certain market towns. These considerations help to ensure the specific needs of a community are assessed.

Any decisions on changes to LINK’s independent assessment criteria are a matter for LINK and the financial services sector.

Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.