Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Paragraph: 23
We recognise that the Government does not want to intervene in the detail of commercial...
Conclusion
We recognise that the Government does not want to intervene in the detail of commercial decisions. However, we are concerned that a lack of data on cash usage in Scotland means Ministers have not had a clear picture of the implications of bank branch and ATM closures on communities in Scotland. We welcome the Minister’s recognition of the need for a more detailed picture of cash usage in Scotland, and it is important that this more detailed data be used to inform the Government’s legislative proposals.
Paragraph Reference:
23
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Related to this recommendation, the Committee’s report reflects on the availability of data relating to cash in Scotland. According to further information provided by LINK, as of June 2022 there were over 5,000 ATMs in Scotland and the proportion of ATMs that are free-to-use has increased in Scotland to 81%, up from 75% in January 2020. Around 96% of cash withdrawn from LINK ATMs is from free-to-use machines in terms of value, this is a similar proportion to before the pandemic and across the UK more broadly. Furthermore, LINK report that cash use in Scotland remains higher than the UK average, while their analysis shows that the proportion of people reporting that they were unable to pay in cash was similar to the UK as a whole.