One of the motivations for us involving ourselves in this inquiry is that we've all seen bank branches close. I want to stand up for communities like Nelson, which saw a Barclays close; Ystrad Mynach, which saw a Nat West; and Bargoed, the northern-most community in my constituency, the one that is most in need of town-centre growth, saw both HSBC and recently, this year, at the end of this year, Lloyds Bank leave the community. So, we feel strongly motivated to address this issue cross-party and see Welsh Government take action. 

I'd like to come to a few recommendations and welcome particularly recommendation 2 and the fact that the Government has accepted it. Russell George has already made reference to the fact that the Welsh Government works with LINK and the regulators to strengthen support to existing free-to-use ATM services. With a cash crisis likely in the future, these free-to-use services are vital in those communities in the northern valleys, particularly, that I represent, and I've already made reference to Bargoed. So, the financial inclusion strategy, and its accompanying delivery plan must, therefore, be reviewed regularly to ensure that that issue is addressed.

I'd like to make a brief reference to recommendation 6, which makes reference to the JACS group, which we actually found out about through the course of our inquiry. Am I right, Chair, in saying that that happened through the course of the inquiry—that we found out about the work of the UK JACS group? And we were asking whether the access to banking standard is sufficiently robust. I was a bit disappointed with the Welsh Government's answer, when they said,

'While supporting the principle set out in the recommendation, the Welsh Government cannot accept, as this is a matter for the UK Government.'

Well, we could have a different UK Government that might take a different view in a few weeks, or we could have the same Government that is taking the same approach. Either way, I'd like to see—and I know that it isn't typically a campaigning role that the Welsh Government takes—the Welsh Government pushing this issue very hard with the UK Government, regardless of who that may be.

Recommendation 7 talks about the Welsh Government reviewing its support for the post office network to expand the banking sector. The Minister has decided to accept this only in part, and says, 

'There are no plans to reintroduce support for the Post Office Network in Wales.'

I was disappointed, because in 2003-2004, Bargoed post office benefited from nearly £37,000 thanks to the Welsh Government's old post office development fund, and this secured the post office in Bargoed for the future. And one of the things that I found was an evaluation that the old Welsh Assembly Government took of the post office development fund, which said that eight post offices were kept open precisely because of that fund. So, Minister, I'm putting a direct question to you: do you not believe that the post office development fund would be important in sustaining the future of post offices where banks are leaving?

And, finally, I want to come to the community bank. We've spent a great deal of time—and you can see in recommendations 13 and 14—looking around this idea of a community bank. It was in the early days of the Drakeford administration, and Banc Cambria were vying then for £600,000 of Welsh Government money to carry out feasibility work, which they subsequently received and are now in the process of establishing themselves as a bank. We had those questions that Russell George has mentioned: what about the impact on things like credit unions? How will credit unions work with a community bank? How will the post office network work with a community bank? But also, questions that I've got about place and provision: what will they look like in communities—what will a community bank look like?

Well, the Welsh Government's made an outlay and now we need to see what strategy the Welsh Government has to support that in the future. A community bank in every town sounds like a fine idea, but do we have the places and the demand to make that work? It is down to the community bank to make it happen, but it was also in the First Minister's leadership manifesto—[Interruption.] Yes.