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1691697

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2024
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Bank Services: Access
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure that people living in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England have access to banking services.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	15654
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking and cash services, and is monitoring this issue closely. It is imperative that firms recognise the needs of all their customers, including those who need to use in-person services.</p><p> </p><p>UK banking customers can access banking services through a number of different channels. This includes in branches, Post Offices or Banking Hubs, as well as via telephone banking and through digital means such as mobile or online banking.</p><p> </p><p>The Post Office allows personal and business customers to carry out everyday banking services at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Banking Hubs are an initiative which enable customers of participating banks to access cash and banking services in shared facilities. Over 100 Banking Hubs have been announced so far, including in Stone, Cheadle and Pershore in the wider West Midlands region, and the Government hopes to see these all open as soon as possible.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hitchin and Harpenden answering member printed Bim Afolami question first answered 29/02/2024 11:57:25 answering member 4639 label Biography information for Bim Afolami
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1691699

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2024
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Mortgages: Interest Rates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in mortgage interest rates in each of the last two years on the income of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	15656
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/02/2024 answer text <p>The path to lower interest rates is through low inflation, and the Government is fully committed to supporting the Bank of England get inflation back down to the 2% target, including by keeping borrowing under control.</p><p> </p><p>While the pricing of mortgages is ultimately a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene, our plan is working, and the average offered mortgage rates on 2-year and 5-year fixed rates are now lower compared to their peak in Summer 2023. The Government’s Mortgage Charter - in addition to the significant safeguards already in place - is providing support to vulnerable households; and mortgage arrears and repossessions remain low.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2022, the government has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the most vulnerable by providing one of the largest support packages in Europe. Support for households to help with the cost of living is worth £104 billion over 2022-23 to 2024-25, or £3,700 per household on average.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hitchin and Harpenden answering member printed Bim Afolami question first answered 29/02/2024 11:55:52 answering member 4639 label Biography information for Bim Afolami
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1691700

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2024
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Small Businesses: Government Assistance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to support small businesses in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	15657
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/02/2024 answer text <p>Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Small businesses across the West Midlands will benefit from the £105 million the area has received from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which ramps up to £1.5bn this coming year. This will enable the West Midlands to invest in business support, people and wider regeneration.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also funds a network of 37 Growth Hubs across England to give free support and advice to businesses. Additionally, the Made Smarter Adoption programme, which has been operating in multiple regions including the West Midlands, helps manufacturing SMEs adopt advanced digital technology and is being expanded to further regions in England in 2025/26.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Gareth Davies question first answered 29/02/2024 13:34:32 answering member 4850 label Biography information for Gareth Davies
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1665426

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Bank Services: Closures
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of closures of (a) bank branches and (b) free-to-use ATMs in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) Coventry, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) England in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	203000
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2023 answer text <p>While the government does not make direct assessments of branch networks, it believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking and cash services.</p><p> </p><p>The government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities across the UK, including free withdrawal and deposit facilities in relation to personal current accounts.</p><p> </p><p>Decisions on opening and closing branches and ATMs are a commercial issue, and the government does not intervene in these. However, under FCA guidance, firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on the everyday banking and cash access needs of their customers and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This seeks to ensure that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.</p><p> </p><p>Alternative options for access to banking can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 20/10/2023 15:17:44 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1661947

	registered interest
	date	19/09/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Standard of Living: Coventry
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of his Department’s policies on living standards in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	200460
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2023 answer text <p>The Government is committed to promoting living standards and fostering inclusive growth across the country. Taken together, support to households to help with higher bills this year and last is worth £94 billion, or £3,300 per household on average – one of the largest household support packages in Europe.</p><p> </p><p>Distributional analysis published at Spring Budget 2023 shows that the typical UK household at any income level will see a net benefit in 2023-24 following government decisions made from Autumn Statement 2022 onwards. Low-income households will receive the largest benefit in cash terms and as a percentage of income from government decisions.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 17/10/2023 09:16:15 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1646671

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Mortgages: Interest Rates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of rising mortgage interest rates on the levels of household disposable income in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	190834
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2023 answer text <p>The pricing and availability of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.</p><p> </p><p>However, we recognise this will be a concerning time for all households with a mortgage, particularly those who are due to come to the end of their existing deal in the immediate future. The Prime Minister has been clear, the best and most important way that we can keep costs and interest rates down for people is to halve inflation, and then return it to the 2% target.</p><p> </p><p>On Friday 23 June the Chancellor met with mortgage lenders, UK Finance and the FCA to discuss a new package of support for those who encounter problems keeping up with their mortgage payments. These commitments include an agreement permitting customers to switch to an interest only mortgage, or extend their mortgage term, for 6 months, after which they can switch back without a new affordability check or it affecting their credit score. Lenders also agreed borrowers won’t have their home repossessed within 12 months from their first missed payment without their consent or unless in exceptional circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>If you are concerned about making your mortgage repayment, you must speak to your lender as soon as possible. Contacting them will not affect your credit score</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also already taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also recognises the challenges facing households due to elevated costs of living, so has taken action at Spring Budget 2023 to go further to protect struggling families. Taken together, support to households to help with higher bills is worth £94 billion, or £3,300 per household on average, across 2022-23 and 2023-24 – one of the largest in Europe. The government’s successful economic strategy will provide further help. The Bank of England forecast that inflation will fall to 5.1% by the end of 2023, before falling close to target by the end of 2024.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 27/06/2023 10:32:22 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1646683

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Cost of Living: Debts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the rising cost of living on the levels of household debt in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	190838
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2023 answer text <p>The Government monitors personal debt levels by working closely with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as well as other stakeholders in the debt advice sector.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA conducts a biennial Financial Lives Survey which provides a comprehensive insight into the finances of the UK population. The latest results of their survey relating to financial resilience can be found in the link below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/data/financial-lives-2022-early-survey-insights-vulnerability-financial-resilience" target="_blank">https://www.fca.org.uk/data/financial-lives-2022-early-survey-insights-vulnerability-financial-resilience</a></p><p> </p><p>MaPS monitors financial difficulty through an annual survey of 22,000 people. The results of MaPS’ latest Debt Need Survey were published on 25 January 2023. This includes a regional breakdown of how the need for debt advice changed since 2021. The summary of their findings can be found in the link below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/2023/01/25/need-for-debt-advice-and-how-households-are-reacting-to-changes-in-the-cost-of-living/" target="_blank">https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/2023/01/25/need-for-debt-advice-and-how-households-are-reacting-to-changes-in-the-cost-of-living/</a></p><p> </p><p>MaPS have also published constituency-level debt advice need figures from 2021 which can be found in the link below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmoneyandpensionsservice.org.uk%2F2021%2F09%2F30%2Fneed-for-debt-advice-2021-estimates-for-uk-constituencies-and-local-authorities%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7Crajesh.kapoor%40hmtreasury.gov.uk%7C00685ebe2a1d431e32e008db73e0d8db%7Ced1644c505e049e6bc39fcf7ac51c18c%7C0%7C0%7C638231181770102548%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=RJgSD0%2B1i5GCmGlnnSJz%2BPnc%2FkSMnAqKvdEUyFuz9i4%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/2021/09/30/need-for-debt-advice-2021-estimates-for-uk-constituencies-and-local-authorities/</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>MaPS is aiming to publish constituency-level debt advice need figures based on their 2022 survey later this year.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 27/06/2023 10:30:18 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1612823

	registered interest
	date	20/04/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Mortgages: Arrears
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increases in the cost of living on the number of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England that have fallen into arrears with their mortgage provider.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	181986
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2023 answer text <p>Mortgage arrears levels remain at historically low levels. According to the latest UK Finance data, there were 75,170 homeowner mortgages in arrears at the end of December 2022, 6% fewer than in the same period in the previous year.</p><p> </p><p>Where mortgage borrowers do fall in financial difficulty, Financial Conduct Authority guidance requires firms to offer tailored support. This could include a range of measures depending on individual circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 25/04/2023 12:38:39 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1612828

	registered interest
	date	20/04/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Bank Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to (a) cash and (b) banking services in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; and what steps he is taking to ensure adequate access to (i) cash and (ii) banking services in those areas in the next five years.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	181987
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2023 answer text <p>The way consumers and businesses interact with their banks and make payments is changing, bringing significant benefits to those who choose to opt for the convenience, security, and speed of digital services.</p><p> </p><p>Nonetheless, the government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, and is currently legislating to protect access to cash as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill. The Bill will establish the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provide it with appropriate powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.</p><p> </p><p>Based on data published by LINK for February 2023, there are 31,873 free-to-use ATMs in England, including 3,431 in the West Midlands and 72</p><p>in the constituency of Coventry, North East. Further information is available at: <a href="https://www.link.co.uk/initiatives/financial-inclusion-monthly-report/" target="_blank">https://www.link.co.uk/initiatives/financial-inclusion-monthly-report/</a></p><p> </p><p>The government also believes that everyone, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking services.</p><p> </p><p>Decisions on opening and closing branches, and the provision of in-person services, are a commercial matter for banks and building societies. However, guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. The FCA expects firms to put in place alternatives, where this is reasonable, to ensure customer needs are met. Where firms fall short of expectations, the FCA may ask for closures to be paused or other options to be put in place.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 25/04/2023 14:39:44 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1536316

	registered interest
	date	26/10/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Debts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the regional spread of household debt in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	72287
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2022 answer text <p>I refer the Hon Member to the answer that I gave on 28 October 2022 to PQ UIN71099.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 31/10/2022 14:22:48 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher