Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to widen access to basic bank accounts.

Improving access to banking services is central to the Government’s agenda. I am therefore delighted that the nine largest personal current account providers in the UK have been offering new basic bank accounts since January 2016.

For the first time, truly fee-free basic bank accounts are available for anyone who doesn’t have an account, or can’t use their account due to financial difficulty.