Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including Lloyds Bank, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.<\/p>
Decisions on the branch network are a commercial matter for the management team of a firm, and the Government does not intervene in those decisions. However, the impact of closures on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated, where possible.<\/p>
Government supports the industry\u2019s Access to Banking Standard, launched in May 2017, which commits banks to ensure personal and business customers are better informed about branch closures and the reasons for them closing, along with the options they have locally to continue to access banking services. The Access to Banking Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board.<\/p>
Government also supports the Post Office\u2019s banking framework agreement which enables 99% of personal and 95% of banks\u2019 small business customers to conduct their everyday banking services at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,500 branches. In March, in response to my request, the Post Office and UK Finance committed to joint work to raise public awareness of these important services so that more consumers can benefit from them.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4051", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for John Glen"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Salisbury"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "John Glen"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-09-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-09-12T11:20:25.567Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-09-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Lloyds Bank: Closures"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of Lloyds Bank on its closures of local bank branches.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "170445"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/928795", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/928795/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
To support British households and businesses, at Autumn Budget 2017, the government froze fuel duty for the eighth successive year. Since public finances are based on the assumption that fuel duty will increase with RPI at every Budget, any increase below this represents a cost to the Exchequer. Successive freezes since 2011 have saved the average driver £620 compared to what it would have been with RPI increases. <\/em><\/p> Since 2011, the announced freezes to fuel duty have meant the Exchequer has not collected around £46 billion in revenues through to 2018-19. For the purposes of comparison, this is around twice as much as we spend on all NHS nurses and doctors each year.<\/em><\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4320", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Jenrick"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Newark"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Robert Jenrick"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-06-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-06-28T09:48:31.51Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2018-06-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Motor Vehicles: Taxation"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the cost of (a) fuel duty and (b) road tax on the affordability of motoring.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"}
], "uin" : "156489"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/914837", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/914837/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " This government is committed to ensuring that every part of the country has a modern and efficient infrastructure.<\/p> <\/p> Access to Superfast Broadband in Nottinghamshire has risen from 65% to 98% since 2010.<\/p> <\/p> The current East Midlands rail \u200efranchise has delivered over £13 million of investment, including additional services between Newark and Nottingham.<\/p> <\/p> £1.8 billion is being spent on road schemes across the Midlands network, including an upgrade to the M1 with vital junction improvements to increase capacity and reduce congestion for Nottingham. £5 million has also been awarded for the extensive repairs to the A38 and A617 Mansfield Ashfield Regeneration Route.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4320", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Jenrick"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Newark"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Robert Jenrick"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-06-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-06-11T16:06:52.997Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2018-06-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Regional Planning and Development: Nottinghamshire"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support the development of regional infrastructure in Nottinghamshire.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"}
], "uin" : "149074"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/882559", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/882559/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " During 2016/17 academic year, provisional data shows the following apprenticeship starts for Mansfield, the East Midlands and England:<\/p> <\/p> Mansfield<\/p><\/td> 1,450<\/p><\/td><\/tr> East Midlands<\/p><\/td> 47,180<\/p><\/td><\/tr> England<\/p><\/td> 485,500<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> Annual investment in apprenticeships in England will be £2.45bn in 19/20; double what was spent in 2010-11. Treasury ministers engage with the Secretary of State for Education on a regular basis to monitor the Government\u2019s public investment in skills, and the impact it has had on businesses. Since the introduction of the Levy, 86% of employers said apprenticeships developed skills relevant to their organisation and 78% reported improved productivity (Apprenticeships evaluation 2017, November 2017).<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4097", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Elizabeth Truss"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South West Norfolk"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Elizabeth Truss"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-04-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-04-23T14:14:59.697Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2018-04-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Apprentices: Taxation"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the economic effect of the Apprenticeship Levy on businesses in (a) England (b) the East Midlands (c) Mansfield constituency, since the levy was introduced.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"}
], "uin" : "135621"}
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