CAMPAIGNING TO SAVE ACCESS TO CASH

Today I sponsored a Cardtronics event in the House of Commons to highlight the need to save our cash infrastructure which was very well supported by Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs as well as MPs from all parties.

Cash remains a crucial part of many people’s lives, helping them to budget effectively, and with the cost of living squeezing our finances this has become more important than ever. But failure to help communities access their cash will leave vulnerable people at crisis point and have a potentially devastating knock-on effect on local high streets.

I have been campaigning hard to protect access to cash for thousands of people in my constituency and beyond as prevent financial exclusion is extremely important.

Some of the communities hit hardest by the pandemic - high streets and rural areas - face growing challenges to access cash with 23% of free-to-use cash machines lost across the U.K. since 2018.

As we know all too well, the loss of banks is too often accompanied by the loss of free-to-use cash machines, and unless legislation is introduced urgently, the ability to access to cash and use it as payment could be permanently lost to many consumers, causing significant financial exclusion.

In the March 2020 Budget, the Chancellor made a commitment to introducing legislation protecting access to cash. However, two years on and this has still not been introduced.

With the Queen’s Speech fast approaching, I, alongside many colleagues are pressing the issue in Parliament to ensure the U.K. Government delivers in its promise to deliver legislation to protect cash.