Jon Pearce

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Wishart. I thank the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) for securing this debate. I will also start with some good news. When Lloyds closed the last bank in Glossop, and Halifax closed in Buxton, Link was very good, and we were able to secure banking hubs for both those major towns. Both those hubs are looking for permanent homes, which we expect to see later this year. Across the middle of my constituency, the story is very different. In New Mills, there is a community bank that is open for only five and a half hours on a Monday, and there is no access to banking for the rest of that belt. There are post offices in Chinley and Whaley Bridge, but both have been under threat and have nearly closed. We have only recently managed—touch wood—to secure their long-term futures. It is vital that my constituents have access not only to cash, which was the original impetus for this, but to face-to-face banking. That was a big issue for those who came along to hear about the banking hubs in Glossop and Buxton. The ability to talk to someone about savings, to take hard-copy documents and to talk things through makes such a massive difference for so many people. I very much welcome the Minister’s announcement of the review into access to banking, and I look forward to the outcome. I encourage the Government to consider changing the rules applying to Link, to move away from access to cash alone and towards face-to-face services. That is, as we have heard, what our communities are desperate for.