8. Will the Minister provide an update on Welsh Government plans to improve financial inclusion in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ53850

The financial inclusion progress report and forward look, published in December 2018, provides an overview of some of the key activities since publication of the strategy and delivery plan in 2016. These include our ongoing support for advice services, credit unions and the discretionary assistance fund.

Thank you, Minister, and I'm very aware of the good work that is done by organisations like the citizens advice bureau in my constituency. Yet, there are Valleys communities that are facing a steady withdrawal of many vital services, and many of us will have seen that. Working with my colleague Gerald Jones MP, we've campaigned to save some of the commercial banking services in towns like Rhymney, and we're currently looking to retain access to a network of free cashpoints, cash withdrawal machines, and also supporting the work of local credit unions. In what further ways can the Welsh Government deliver support to ensure financial inclusion in these communities?

Can I start by also reflecting the Member's comments and recognising the work the citizens advice bureau provides in providing advice and promoting financial inclusion and that support for people in communities across the country, and also recognising the work both you and your colleague Gerald Jones have done in trying to prevent bank closures and best mitigate the impact? I know it's something that probably all Members in this Chamber will be familiar with, and familiar with having to campaign in that way as well. And, unfortunately, whilst we don't have the levers at our disposal in terms of regulation in terms of preventing banks from doing that, there is actually action we can take within Wales to make sure that financial inclusion doesn't suffer as a consequence of that.

The Member mentions about the—[Inaudible.]—access to ATMs through Link. We will continue to liaise with Link—as Welsh Government—the cash machine network to help ensure that there is adequate provision of free-to-use cash machines maintained locally, whilst focusing on our work with credit unions. There are 19 credit union providers we're supporting between April last year and March 2020, and Merthyr Tydfil is one of these as well. The Member is also familiar with the work being led by my colleague the Minister for Economy and Transport on developing a community bank in Wales. Banking professionals are currently working with the Development Bank of Wales, who support this work, ensuring that the creation of a community bank integrates with existing financial institutions, including the development bank and, of course, credit unions. Hopefully, this will go some way to supporting financially inclusive communities.

Minister, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, like many other communities in Wales, has suffered bank closures in recent years, such as the Barclays bank branch in Aberfan and Lloyds bank in Rhymney. This has made the availability of cash machines even more important to enable people to access their cash. However, a report in the magazine Which? found that free-to-use cash machines were disappearing at a rapid rate, with nearly 1,700 machines across the United Kingdom starting to charge for withdrawals in the first three months of this year. Minister, do you agree that charging for cash withdrawals will have an adverse effect on financial inclusion and will you make representations to those companies that provide cash machines, stressing the importance of free transactions to communities such as Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney?

The Welsh Government continues to work with Link, the cash machine network, to help ensure that there is adequate provision of free-to-use cash machines maintained locally and a regular network across communities across Wales. As I said to the Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, it is that Member over there's Government that could take action to regulate banks to prevent communities from suffering in this way as well.

Question 9 [OAQ53847] is withdrawn. Question 10, Leanne Wood.