3. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with retail banks regarding branch networks. (S5O-00722)

Scottish Government ministers regularly meet the retail banks to discuss a wide range of issues, including branch closures. I appreciate Mr Gray’s concerns over the closures that were recently announced in his Constituency, which will have an undoubted impact on communities there. Those concerns are shared by many as banks continue to change the way in which they choose to deliver services to their customers, albeit that we also recognise that the shift to digital banking is having a significant impact on footfall in some branches.

Although we recognise that declining branch activity may be a driver for banks today, we urge banks to avoid acting precipitately and to see branch closures as a last resort. Before closing a branch, we urge banks to consider consultation with local stakeholders and communities to explore all practical options to retain branches where viable to do so, and to consider alternatives to reflect the needs of many customers who have a strong preference or need for face-to-face contact.

Prestonpans in my Constituency recently lost its last bank—a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland—and now nearby Tranent is down to one bank with the TSB closing its branch there.

I appreciate that, as the Minister made clear, those decisions are not in the control of the Government, but I ask him and his colleagues to take every opportunity to go a little further than he did in his answer and impress on those banks that they have benefited from a great deal of public money and that the public deserve better in return.

I recognise Iain Gray’s point. It is a point that has been made to me by a number of members and I know that Iain Gray, Kenneth Gibson and other members have all been proactive on the issue and have raised similar issues in their constituencies. I give Iain Gray and other members from across the chamber who have expressed an interest in the area an undertaking that I will work with the banks to identify what we can do to tackle the challenge. We must recognise that fundamental changes are taking place in banking but I hope that we can find ways to preserve branches where possible and to work with the United Kingdom Government where reserved powers intervene to make sure that we have the right environment to protect branches. I take the point entirely that banks that have a significant public stake in them, which is controlled by the UK Government, could do more to protect the branch network.