{"primaryDescription":"<h2>How&nbsp;important are&nbsp;cash and banking services&nbsp;to&nbsp;the health of the high street?&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<p>The Scottish Affairs Committee continues its inquiry&nbsp;<a href=\"https://committees.parliament.uk/event/27265/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exploring the future of Scotland&rsquo;s high streets</a>&nbsp;with an evidence session focused on access to cash and high street banking.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>In the first panel, the cross-party committee will hear from UK Finance,&nbsp;the banking industry&rsquo;s trade association. MPs will explore&nbsp;the impact of high street bank branch closures on&nbsp;local businesses,&nbsp;communities&nbsp;and&nbsp;town centres.&nbsp;It will also consider how any&nbsp;replacement&nbsp;provision of&nbsp;access to cash and banking&nbsp;facilities&nbsp;can account for challenges&nbsp;in Scotland&nbsp;around rurality and digital connectivity.</p>","secondaryDescription":"<p>In the second panel, the committee will hear from LINK, Cash Access&nbsp;UK&nbsp;and the Post Office, which are key organisations involved in providing&nbsp;additional&nbsp;or replacement access to cash and banking provision on UK high streets.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>Members may ask about&nbsp;access to&nbsp;free-to-use ATMs,&nbsp;the rollout of banking hubs and Post Office banking services.&nbsp;The importance of local cash access for high streets, and&nbsp;the UK Government&rsquo;s recently announced Access to Banking Services review,&nbsp;could also be discussed.</p>","parliamentTvUrl":null,"id":27265,"name":"The future of Scotland's high streets – Session 3","startDate":"2026-07-08T09:00:00","endDate":"2026-07-08T11:30:00","cancelledDate":null,"locationId":13,"location":"Room 6, Palace of Westminster","eventType":{"id":6,"name":"Formal meeting (oral evidence session)","isVisit":false,"description":"Formal meetings may be held in private (for example to consider a draft report) or in public (for example to hear oral evidence), and require a minimum number of members to be present."},"eventSource":"CIS","committees":[{"contact":{"email":"scotaffcom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":"Scottish Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA","contactDisclaimer":"We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone.\r\nPlease be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints."},"id":136,"name":"Scottish Affairs Committee","parentCommittee":null,"subCommittees":[],"house":"Commons","leadHouse":null,"category":{"id":1,"name":"Select"},"committeeTypes":[{"id":1,"name":"(HC) Public Standing Orders - Departmental","committeeCategory":{"id":1,"name":"Select"}}],"showOnWebsite":true,"websiteLegacyUrl":"https://old.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/scottish-affairs-committee/","websiteLegacyRedirectEnabled":false,"startDate":"1979-05-03T00:00:00","endDate":null,"dateCommonsAppointed":"2024-10-21T00:00:00","dateLordsAppointed":null,"scrutinisingDepartments":[],"isLeadCommittee":true,"nameHistory":[{"id":134,"committeeId":136,"name":"Scottish Affairs Committee","startDate":"1979-05-03T00:00:00","endDate":null}]}],"committeeBusinesses":[{"id":9439,"title":"The future of Scotland’s high streets","type":{"id":1,"name":"Inquiry","isInquiry":true,"description":"Inquiries allow committees to consider oral and written evidence on a particular topic. 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