Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the number of bank branch closures in Wales since July 2019.

The Government recognises the continued importance of access to banking. However, decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue for banks and building societies.

In May 2017, the largest banks and building societies, including those with a large presence in Wales, signed up to the Access to Banking Standard which commits them to ensure customers are well informed about branch closures, the bank’s reasons for closure and options for continued access to banking services.

Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority also sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.

Alternative options for access can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

Furthermore, LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network) has commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs and is held to account against these commitments by the Payment Systems Regulator. The financial services industry is also working with retailers to introduce cashback without a purchase to thousands of local shops following changes to the law by the Government through the Financial Services Act 2021.

The Government also remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash and ensuring that the UK's cash infrastructure is sustainable for the long term. The Government recently undertook a consultation on Access to Cash. This set out proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities.