Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether building societies exercise their powers to terminate membership of their members fairly and proportionately.

The Government is keen to ensure that regulation is proportionate and gives building societies the flexibility to choose what works best for them within the mutual model. It would be inappropriate for the Government to comment on specific governance decisions taken by a building society within the legal framework.

A building society's membership policy is set out in the society's rulebook. If an individual feels procedure has not been followed, they can raise a formal complaint with the building society directly.

Where termination of membership also results in loss of access to a payment service, further protections may also apply. In June 2025, the Government legislated to require payment service providers to give customers at least 90 days’ notice before closing their account or terminating a payment service and provide a sufficiently detailed and specific explanation so the customer can understand why it is being terminated. These rules come into force for relevant new contracts from April 2026 and will ensure more transparent and predictable access to payment services, giving customers the time and information they need to challenge decisions or find alternative arrangements.