The Government
and the Financial Inclusion Taskforce are pleased to announce
today that the shared goal to halve the number of adults living in
households without access to a bank account has been achieved.
The shared goal was agreed in December 2004 between the
Government and the banks. The latest report on access to banking
by the Financial Inclusion Taskforce shows that the number has
fallen from 2 million in 2003/04 to less than 900,000 in 2007/08.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury said:
“We welcome the announcement that this very important goal has
now been achieved. The shared goal is a great example of
government, industry and third sector partners working together to
ensure that everyone can access the financial services they need
to get by day-to-day.”
Brian Pomeroy, chair of the Financial Inclusion Taskforce said:
“This is extremely good news and it means that many more people
can now use transactional banking to make and receive payments as
well as holding their money in a secure and accessible way. It is
important that these gains are not lost and the Taskforce has
called on Government, the banks and the FSA to ensure that the
standards of service in bank branches are upheld and scrutinised.
And we must not lose sight of the possibilities for making further
inroads into the number of people who are unbanked.”
Notes to Editors
1. Financial inclusion is the Government’s policy to ensure that
everyone has access to appropriate financial services, enabling
them to:
· manage their money on a day-to-day basis, effectively, securely
and confidently;
· plan for the future and cope with financial pressure, by
managing their families to protect against short-term variations
in income and expenditure, and to take advantage of longer-term
opportunities; and
· deal effectively with financial distress, should unexpected
events lead to serious financial difficult
2. The Government set out its programme to deliver financial
inclusion in financial inclusion: an action plan for
2008-11 published in December 2007 and available here: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/fin_inclusion_actionplan08_11.htm.
3. The Financial Inclusion Taskforce’s fourth annual report on
access to banking can be found here: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/fit_papers.htm
4. Today the Taskforce has also published research on access to
insurance, which can be found here: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/fit_research.htm
5. The Financial Inclusion Taskforce was established by HM
Treasury in April 2005 and it’s terms of reference extend to 2011.
The Taskforce’s remit covers the Government’s strategic priorities
to improve access to banking, affordable credit, free face-to-face
money advice, savings and insurance. The Taskforce also advises on
stimulating demand for financial services among hard-to-reach groups.
6. Taskforce members draw on experience from the private, public,
charitable and academic sectors. The Taskforce is chaired by Brian
Pomeroy, who is also the Chair of the Payments Council and the
Gambling Commission.
7. The full Taskforce meets at least five times a year. The
Taskforce also has a number of subgroups and working groups which
consider specific areas of financial inclusion policy. Minutes of
Taskforce meetings and other papers and research are available at
the Taskforce’s website; www.financialinclusion-taskforce.org.uk.
Non-media enquiries
should be addressed to the Treasury Correspondence and
Enquiry Unit on 020 7270 4558 or by e-mail to public.enquiries@hm-treasury.gov.uk
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