Lib Dem MPs Join Forces Over Bank Access At Post Offices

11.51.27am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 23rd Jan 2004

Gordon Liberal Democrat MP has written to the three High Street banks which still do not allow all their account holders to access their money over the post office counter in Scotland. The letters have also been signed by the Rt Hon Charles Kennedy MP, Sir Robert Smith MP, John Barrett MP, Alistair Carmichael MP and Alan Reid MP.

Commenting on why he felt the need to write, Mr Bruce said:

"The future of the Scottish post office network hangs in the balance. Subpostmasters across the country face huge losses in income due to the shift towards benefits and pensions being paid straight into people's bank accounts. If the post office network is to survive it must find new ways of drawing people into branches - and find them fast.

"A number of banks in Scotland now allow their customers to access their accounts in the post office. This is a terrific step for the banks to have taken and will make a very positive impact on local post offices. Unfortunately the three main banks - Clydesdale Bank, Halifax Bank of Scotland and The Royal Bank of Scotland - have decided it is not in their commercial interests to extend this facility to all their account holders, even if it is in the best interests of their customers in terms of access. It appears profit margins outweigh social responsibility for these banks.

"I have joined forces with my Liberal Democrat colleagues in pressing them to reconsider their decisions. Bank branches continue to close and the effect this could have on especially rural communities could be catastrophic. Small communities are 6 times more likely to have a post office than a bank. If that post office branch had banking facilities it would prove a lifeline to the local community. When £6 out of every £10 withdrawn from a cash machine is spent in the nearby area this is not just a matter of convenience for smaller towns and villages, it is a matter of survival."