Thank you, First Minister. Just last week, HSBC announced its intention to close its branch in Holywell, hot on the heels of NatWest taking the same decision to shut its doors in the same town, the consequence of which is going to hit the high street hard. I was joined by members of the community and my parliamentary colleague last Friday to take a stand against this latest closure, and the hurt and the anger of local people was clearly palpable. They really feel enough is enough for the area. Indeed, when HSBC closed its bank in Flint last year, they advised customers they could relocate to use the Holywell branch, and they also shut their NatWest branch in Flint last year, leaving many, mostly the elderly, out on a limb. Whilst the banks make clear that it’s possible to use the local post office, this is obviously not applicable to business customers, and also the future of Holywell post office is far from certain at present.

First Minister, while I recognise that any legislation to protect our local bank branches would need to be done at a UK level, what is and can the Welsh Government do to enable people and businesses in my constituency and across Wales to continue to access face-to-face banking and support our high streets that will potentially suffer on the back of these closures?