AQW 6230/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 03/09/2020
Answered On Date: 21/09/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy (i) what meetings she or her departmental officials have had with the banking sector to address growing concern about the lack of banking provision in rural areas; and (ii) what proactive measures are being taken by banks to provide locally-based access to help people to set up an account in advance of the end of the Department for Work and Pensions contract with the Post Office as part of the Future Method of Payment Project.

Answer:

I appreciate the impact that rural banking services can have on local communities, business and investment in rural areas.

My Department does not have direct responsibility for banks in Northern Ireland as the regulation of financial services is a reserved matter. However, the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (CCNI), which is one of my Department’s Non Departmental Public Bodies, provides advice on consumer matters including banking services.

The Consumer Council website (www.consumercouncil.org.uk) provides guidance to consumers on bank closures, a Financial Map of Northern Ireland that highlights financial services in areas affected by bank closures, and a current account comparison tool.

The issue of proactive measures being taken by banks to provide locally-based access to help people to set up an account in advance of the end of the Department for Work and Pensions contract with the Post Office as part of the Future Method of Payment Project is not within the remit of my Department. I would direct you to the Minister for Communities as the issue falls within her Department’s remit.