Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 05 June 2013
05 Jun 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Banks (Branch Closures)
I thank all the members who have given me the opportunity to have the debate today.
Some time ago, the Royal Bank of Scotland announced that it was closing its Bridgeton branch in my Glasgow Shettleston constituency. It closed the branch earlier this year. To an extent, we accepted that that was inevitable. Cuts were being made across the board in society and in the banks, so perhaps we did not put up much of a fight.
However, in the very same week that RBS closed the branch, it announced that it would also close the Shettleston branch—no consultation, no asking for opinions, just a decision that had already been made. I was furious about that. That would leave only one branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland in my constituency of some 70,000 people. To be fair, RBS agreed to meet me. It told me how wonderful the one remaining branch would be—it even had a machine there that would give out £5 notes. That is really wonderful, is it not?
Around the same time, I attended a meeting of Sandyhills community council and quickly picked up that it was not just me who was seriously upset; the community as a whole was furious about the decision. We therefore agreed to put together a petition and collected more than 1,000 signatures from local residents and others who came into the area, often specifically to use that branch. It is not just the bank’s customers—individuals and businesses—who suffer in such a situation; the danger is that footfall will drop for all the other shops in the area and that it will cause problems for a number of other businesses, including, in this case, the credit union, which is very close by.
Members may be aware that Labour and the Scottish National Party do not always have the closest of relationships in the east end of Glasgow; in fact, we do virtually nothing together unless we are absolutely forced to. However, on this occasion, given the strength of feeling in the community council and among the wider public, I felt that we had to try to bring everyone together. There is nothing like having a common enemy such as RBS to draw normally antagonistic politicians together.
The campaign has been led by Sandyhills community council and supported by Shettleston and Tollcross Credit Union, Margaret Curran MP, the ex-MSP Frank McAveety, local councillors and me. The role of community councils can be important in relation to such issues. They are non-party political and cover a smaller distinct area than even city councillors do. I admit that I have had clashes with community councils in my time, but the campaign has been an example of how they can be a real asset to a local community.
On a cross-party basis, with the credit union and the community council, we went to Gogarburn to hand in our petition. Again, to be fair, RBS accepted it and was reasonably polite, but it was not exactly enthusiastic.
What are the bank’s arguments for closing the branch? One argument is that there are fewer customers than there used to be. Of course I can accept that numbers may be down a little, but people who go into that branch—as I do, and as other members may have done—often have to queue to get served. It is a busy branch.
Another argument is that more customers are using online banking. I am afraid that that argument upsets me somewhat. We know that fewer people are online in poorer areas; in fact, Glasgow Housing Association has found that only 10 per cent of social housing tenants have regular access to online facilities. Across the parties, we have been concerned that the bank has sought to move down the online route, which will clearly disadvantage many of our constituents. The Department for Work and Pensions is another example of an organisation going down that route. Many people want to speak face to face to their local politician or their bank—they do not want to do things online. That may well come in the future, but we are a long way away from a majority of our constituents being comfortable with going online for a range of services.
In the Parliament, we debate finances—whether they are Government finances, organisations’ finances or individuals’ finances—often enough, and on many occasions we do not agree with one another. However, I think that there is broad agreement on some issues, such as the need to improve financial education in our schools and, beyond young people, in the wider community. Debt has been a huge problem right across society, and we all need to learn from mistakes that have been made in the past.
Some time ago, the Royal Bank of Scotland announced that it was closing its Bridgeton branch in my Glasgow Shettleston constituency. It closed the branch earlier this year. To an extent, we accepted that that was inevitable. Cuts were being made across the board in society and in the banks, so perhaps we did not put up much of a fight.
However, in the very same week that RBS closed the branch, it announced that it would also close the Shettleston branch—no consultation, no asking for opinions, just a decision that had already been made. I was furious about that. That would leave only one branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland in my constituency of some 70,000 people. To be fair, RBS agreed to meet me. It told me how wonderful the one remaining branch would be—it even had a machine there that would give out £5 notes. That is really wonderful, is it not?
Around the same time, I attended a meeting of Sandyhills community council and quickly picked up that it was not just me who was seriously upset; the community as a whole was furious about the decision. We therefore agreed to put together a petition and collected more than 1,000 signatures from local residents and others who came into the area, often specifically to use that branch. It is not just the bank’s customers—individuals and businesses—who suffer in such a situation; the danger is that footfall will drop for all the other shops in the area and that it will cause problems for a number of other businesses, including, in this case, the credit union, which is very close by.
Members may be aware that Labour and the Scottish National Party do not always have the closest of relationships in the east end of Glasgow; in fact, we do virtually nothing together unless we are absolutely forced to. However, on this occasion, given the strength of feeling in the community council and among the wider public, I felt that we had to try to bring everyone together. There is nothing like having a common enemy such as RBS to draw normally antagonistic politicians together.
The campaign has been led by Sandyhills community council and supported by Shettleston and Tollcross Credit Union, Margaret Curran MP, the ex-MSP Frank McAveety, local councillors and me. The role of community councils can be important in relation to such issues. They are non-party political and cover a smaller distinct area than even city councillors do. I admit that I have had clashes with community councils in my time, but the campaign has been an example of how they can be a real asset to a local community.
On a cross-party basis, with the credit union and the community council, we went to Gogarburn to hand in our petition. Again, to be fair, RBS accepted it and was reasonably polite, but it was not exactly enthusiastic.
What are the bank’s arguments for closing the branch? One argument is that there are fewer customers than there used to be. Of course I can accept that numbers may be down a little, but people who go into that branch—as I do, and as other members may have done—often have to queue to get served. It is a busy branch.
Another argument is that more customers are using online banking. I am afraid that that argument upsets me somewhat. We know that fewer people are online in poorer areas; in fact, Glasgow Housing Association has found that only 10 per cent of social housing tenants have regular access to online facilities. Across the parties, we have been concerned that the bank has sought to move down the online route, which will clearly disadvantage many of our constituents. The Department for Work and Pensions is another example of an organisation going down that route. Many people want to speak face to face to their local politician or their bank—they do not want to do things online. That may well come in the future, but we are a long way away from a majority of our constituents being comfortable with going online for a range of services.
In the Parliament, we debate finances—whether they are Government finances, organisations’ finances or individuals’ finances—often enough, and on many occasions we do not agree with one another. However, I think that there is broad agreement on some issues, such as the need to improve financial education in our schools and, beyond young people, in the wider community. Debt has been a huge problem right across society, and we all need to learn from mistakes that have been made in the past.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-05922, in the name of John Mason, on bank branch closures. The debate will be co...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
I thank all the members who have given me the opportunity to have the debate today.Some time ago, the Royal Bank of Scotland announced that it was closing it...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I absolutely agree with John Mason about the need to improve financial education in schools, but it is RBS that very often does that education in schools.
John Mason
SNP
Absolutely. That is ironic. To be fair, I have visited St Anne’s primary school, where the local RBS staff did a perfectly good job in encouraging the kids. ...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I apologise, because I will have to leave when I finish my speech.I thank John Mason very much for bringing the debate to the chamber. Many of us, like Mr Ma...
Richard Lyle (Central Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I congratulate John Mason on bringing the issue of bank closures to the chamber today. It is an issue that will have an impact on the lives of many people in...
Drew Smith (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I thank Mr Mason for bringing the debate to the chamber this afternoon. I do not recognise any of the antagonism that he describes in relation to politics in...
Stuart McMillan (West Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I, too, congratulate my colleague John Mason on securing this important debate. I should put it on record that I have an RBS account.Store, factory and bank ...
The Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism (Fergus Ewing)
SNP
I thank John Mason for lodging his motion. I am aware that he raised the issue with John Swinney in March. I understand the concerns about the impact of bran...