Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many working people in the UK they estimate do not have bank accounts; and what steps they are taking to assist such people; and what particular measures they are taking relating to those of this total who are homeless or sleeping rough or may previously have been such.

The Government does not make estimates of the number of working people who do not have access to bank accounts. However, in 2017, the FCA published the results of the Financial Lives Survey which estimated that 1.3 million UK adults (3% of the UK adult population) were unbanked, i.e. have no current account or alternative e-money account. The Financial Lives Survey report contains further information on the characteristics of the unbanked and their preferences to have a bank account. The FCA intend to repeat the Financial Lives Survey on a regular basis in future.

The Government takes financial inclusion very seriously and is working to ensure everyone can have access to financial services. With regards to those who are sleeping rough or are homeless, the Government recognises that it can be difficult for such individuals to access bank accounts due to their lack of permanent address.

Under the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015, the 9 largest UK current account providers are required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to consumers who are either unbanked or who are not eligible for a standard current account. Regulation 23 specifically states that consumers with no fixed address are to be considered eligible and in Regulation 18 specifies that firms must not discriminate against consumers by reason of their place of residence.

As these accounts are particularly suitable for more vulnerable customers, Government encourages the banks who provide them to be flexible with identification and verification checks, within the remit of the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) guidance. The JMLSG guidance encourages firms to consider a wide range of evidence to prove identification and to act reasonably where customers do not have more conventional forms of identification.