I recently had the opportunity to speak in a Westminster Hall debate on high street bank closures.
It was incredibly useful to hear from colleagues about their experiences working with local banking firms to avoid closures and, unfortunately, the next steps when closures were announced.
Of course, this isn't new to many of us, especially those Barclays customers who have been notified of Barclays' intention to close their Wallington branch.
However, I appreciated the opportunity to put on record my thanks for the bank's work to meet with me so soon after their announcement, their continued engagement, and their work to mitigate any negative impacts on customers.
This work includes the continued use of the mobile bank at Dobbie's and the local setting-up and staffing of a hub to ensure those who need to see a bank employee can do so.
I also used the opportunity to call on the Minister responsible to look at what more the Government can do to ensure people can access their money easily - and freely! - as well as the financial support as and when they need it.
