Continued closure of local banks 'shocking', says Stone
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The Liberal Democrat candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Jamie Stone, has pledged to fight for shared community banking hubs if re-elected in December.
Sutherland, which is 2028 square miles and has a population of 13,500, has been left with only one bank branch, the Bank of Scotland in Golspie.
Since 2015 the Bank of Scotland has closed its branches in Dornoch, Lairg, Helmsdale and Bonar Bridge and the Royal Bank of Scotland has shut its branches in Tongue and Lochinver.
Clydesdale announced plans to close its Brora branch earlier this year, while Caithness suffered the loss of the Royal Bank of Scotland branch on Wick's Bridge Street.
Some constituents will face a 150-mile round trip to their nearest branch and those relying on public transport will have a three-and-a-half-hour bus journey each way.
Mr Stone said: "The continued closure of local bank branches is shocking and something that was regularly raised with me by constituents.
"Every time I raised this in the Commons I got the glib answer that people can access banking services through their local post offices and that 99 per cent of the population lives within one mile of a post office.
"Everyone living in the far north knows this is a bad joke which displays a completely uncaring attitude on the part of the Conservative government who can and ought to step in as a matter of urgency.
"I first raised the idea of banking hubs in the House of Commons over a year ago. Combined banking facilities is the ideal way to address closures and banks can work together to provide one-stop shops for customers.
"I had also been meeting with banking bosses to discuss a hub approach, whereby banks would combine to offer a network of local bank branches where people could access face-to-face advice. These discussions were making progress, and if I was to be re-elected I would continue them with a view to establishing these hubs.
"I am committed to doing everything I can to stop and reverse the banking crisis we are seeing in the Highlands."
In a debate secured in the House of Commons by the Conservative MP for Moray, Douglas Ross, Mr Stone raised the issue of banking access.
He told the House in June of this year: "I and other members have always said that the point of having a real branch is to have a human face behind the counter.
"Even if people can go online – not a lot can in my constituency – if someone has a big payment coming along but they do not know what it is, which can be a real worry for people, old and young, it would be better if they could go into a branch and see somebody who would say 'this is what it is' or, 'this is a scam'. That is why we want the human face, which is very hard to replace.
"In my huge constituency, we are told to use mobile banks, but it is not awful funny going to a mobile bank in Wick if it is sleeting in January. The weather in good old Wick can sometimes be very inclement."
