SOMERSET MPs have urged the government to prevent bank branches in more rural areas from closing to ensure residents and businesses can continue to access cash.

Frome and East Somerset MP Anna Sabine organised a debate at Westminster Hall on Wednesday, December 11, calling on the government to promote “financial inclusion” and prevent rural areas from falling into poverty as banks closed branches or reduced opening hours.

Fellow Somerset MP Adam Dance supported Ms Sabine’s calls, arguing the government needed to go further in providing banking hubs in areas where branches had closed – including in Ilminster, within his Yeovil constituency.

Ms Sabine began the debate by highlighting the scarcity of bank branches within her own constituency, which includes Frome and the neighbouring towns of Midsomer Norton and Radstock.

She said: “I have been heartened to hear the new government talk about financial inclusion, but more rural areas face a whole host of issues that make the challenges around financial inclusion even greater.

“Thankfully, Midsomer Norton still has two bank branches open, but they serve surrounding areas as far as the city of Bath, meaning that residents in the surrounding villages still have to travel miles to reach their nearest bank.

“When bank branches close, which is already more likely in rural areas, residents are increasingly vulnerable because the alternatives are more physically spread out, and after losing free-to-use cashpoints, rural residents have to travel three times as far to get cash as those in urban areas.”

Within Frome and East Somerset, around £630,000 is withdrawn from cash machines and bank branches in any given month.

Ms Sabine said the loss of bank branches and free-to-use ATMs were hitting the poor and elderly hard, arguing it made it harder for them to budget effectively from week to week.

Mr Dance said that the government’s current plans for more banking hubs did not go far enough, calling on Link (which runs the UK’s cash machine network) to reconsider its recent decision not to set up a banking hub in Ilminster.

He said: “Does my honourable friend share my concern that the government’s plan to build 350 banking hubs over five years across the entire country is not enough to ensure proper access to in-person banking and cash services in rural communities?

Emma Hardy, parliamentary under-secretary for the environment, food and rural affairs, said ensuring equal access to financial services was “a key priority for the government” and acknowledged the challenges facing rural communities.

Ms Hardy said: “I know that many rural constituencies are concerned about the availability of cash, especially when they rely on it to pay for essential goods and services.

“Arguments have been made by some – not by the government – that people are using digital more and more, so there is less need for cash.

“However, we recognise that for some people it is the only way of paying bills and accessing funds. It is important that we continue to have it, because many rely on it for essential goods and services.”