6. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact that a transition to a digital society will have on residents in mid Wales? OAQ53598

The investment we have made and continue to make in digital infrastructure means that residents across mid Wales will be able to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by a digital society.

Thank you for your answer, Deputy Minister. The consumer group Which? has recently highlighted the issue of access to cash across Wales and has outlined that Wales lost 3 per cent of its free cash point network between just July and November of last year. And as we transition towards an increasing digital society, people in my rural constituency are being, I feel, left behind on that journey—no more so than in Machynlleth, for example, where we saw the last bank close last year and most of its cash points with it. There now remain two cash points—one inside the Co-op and one inside the local Spar. So, access to cash, I would say, is still absolutely necessary for the thousands of tourists that visit mid Wales each year, and I wonder what action the Welsh Government can take to ensure that we manage these changes to a digital society in a sustainable way? And what can be done by Welsh Government, alongside others as well, I accept, to intervene when it is necessary to protect cash as a payment method as well?

Thank you for the question. You've raised a really important issue. It is not restricted just to mid Wales—this is as much an issue in Llanelli as it is Montgomeryshire. This is one of the reasons why the Welsh Government is working with the Scottish Government and the Royal Society of Arts on the development of a community bank, because we recognise the importance that banking facilities still have in communities. And whilst the commercial market has withdrawn from that space, there does need to be a Government intervention to make up for that market failure while society is in transition. So, we're currently working on that now, and we hope, through that, we'll be able to return some community banking facilities to high streets, and I'd be happy to have any ideas that the Member has on what further work we should do.

Question 7 [OAQ53628] was withdrawn. Question 8—David Rees.