and branches across District during Covid-19 MAY 2020 Contents

Foreword 2 Methodology 3 Summary of Findings 4 The National Picture 6 Bradford in Context 8 Constituency Level Reports 9 Bradford East 10 Bradford South 11 Bradford West 12 14 Shipley 16 Dataset 18 References 23

1 foreword

The Green Party believe that the banking system is failing to support the most vulnerable in our society. We accept that technological innovation has drastically changed the banking industry with more people than ever before using online, mobile or telephone banking to complete many of their day to day banking activities. However, physical bank and building society branches are a vital lifeline to many elderly, vulnerable and rural customers. Many self-employed people and SMEs also rely on physical branches to provide cash banking facilities and face to face advice. Over the last twenty-five years bank and building society branches have closed at a staggering rate. The research we have conducted has shown that many areas of Bradford District have significantly less coverage of physical branches than the regional and national average. In fact, Bradford South is one of only eight parliamentary constituencies in the country where there is only one bank branch. The coronavirus crisis of 2020 has forced many of us to change our day to day activities and whilst banking has been identified as a key activity by the UK government, many have temporarily closed branches and nearly all have significantly reduced opening hours. This has accelerated the use of digital banking but it is the most vulnerable in our society who continue to need access to branches. There is already discusion that this sudden uptake in digital banking could accelerate branch closures.

2 Methodology The purpose of this report is to investigate the coverage of banks and building societies across Bradford District and then identify the impact of temporary branch closures on residents. To produce this report, the branch locator tools for nine of the largest retail bank brands and three building societies with a branch network in the UK. These are: Banks HSBC (excluding ) Halifax TSB Natwest / RBS Santander Bank (part of ) The Co-operative Bank Building Societies Nationwide Yorkshire Building Society Building Society

In all cases with the exception of Lloyds Bank and Halifax (where their branch locator tools were not active) the branch locator tools of each institution were used. Each institution’s website was used to identify any temporary branch closures.

This data was then compiled to produce the total number of branches in each UK Parliamentary constituency in Bradford District.

3 Summary of findings There are currently 37 bank branches and 11 building society branches across Bradford District. Prior to the coronavirus crisis, bank and building society branch coverage across Bradford District was below national average in four out of five constituencies (Keighley being the exception). During the 2020 coronavirus situation, all banks have reduced opening hours and as of 4th May 2020 no bank or building society branches across Bradford are open on Saturday or Sunday. As of 4th May 2020, four bank branches are temporarily closed (1 x Santander - ; 3 x Barclays - , Manningham and Shipley) In normal circumstances, the Keighley constituency is the best served constituency with 14 bank and 6 building society branches - 20 in total). This equates to one branch per 4,875 residents. The Bradford South constituency is the worst served constituency with only one bank branch (Santander - Wibsey) for it’s 105,870 residents.

Total Branches Residents Population Building per branch Banks Total Societies Bradford East 119,270 2 0 2 59,635 Bradford South 105,870 1 0 1 105,870 Bradford West 118,760 11 3 14 8,483 Keighley 97,490 14 6 20 4,875 Shipley 95,810 9 2 11 8,710 Total 537,200 37 11 48 11,192

Figure 1. Total number of branches per constituency

4 There are three bank branches earmarked for permanant closure, one in Bradford West (Barclays in Manningham) and two in Shipley (Barclays in Bingley and TSB in Shipley). Taking into account current temporary branch closures, there has been a drop in the number of bank and building societies available for residents in the Bradford West and Shipley constituencies. As of 25th March there has been no branch or building society available for residents in Bradford South.

Total Branches Residents Population Building per branch Banks Total Societies Bradford East 119,270 2 0 2 59,635 Bradford South 105,870 0 0 0 N/A Bradford West 118,760 10 3 13 9,135 Keighley 97,490 14 6 20 4,875 Shipley 95,810 7 2 9 10,646 Total 537,200 37 11 48 12,209

Figure 2. Total number of branches open per constituency as of 4th May 2020

5 The national picture In response to the coronavirus crisis, banks and building societies have temporarily closed branches and significantly reduced opening hours. Both bank and building societies have asked customers to only visit branches to complete “essential transactions”. The number of banks and building societies in the UK has been the source of significant focus over the last 25 years. On 30th January 2020, a briefing paper (CBP08570) was produced for the House of Commons to look into this issue. The paper identified that in 2019 there were 10,405 bank or building society branches in the UK. This was broken down to 8,525 bank branches and 1,880 building society branches. The number of bank branches in the UK has been falling since the mid-1990s. However, the number of building society branches has been broadly steady -

0%

10%

20%

East Wales Scotland N. Ireland N. North East South East North West South West UK Average East Midlands West Midlands West

Yorkshire & the Humber Yorkshire

Figure 3. % change in the number of branches, 2012 to 2019 (source ONS)

6 although this has started to increase in recent years due to several significant mergers of building societies - particularly in Yorkshire. Between the years 2012 and 2019, the total number of bank and building society branches in the UK has fallen by 22%. The Yorkshire & the Humber region has seen the second highest number of bank branch closures with 25% closing between 2012 and 2019.

7 Bradford in context The national statistics look at the total number of banks and building societies per 10,000 people as an indicator of how well an area is served. The national average is 1.6 branches per 10,000 people with the region being slightly below average at 1.4 branches per person.

Total no. Branches / Population branches 10,000 people

Bradford East 119,270 2 0.17

Bradford South 105,870 1 0.09

Bradford West 118,760 14 1.18

Keighley 97,490 20 2.05

Shipley 95,810 11 1.15

Bradford Average 537,200 48 0.89

Yorkshire & the 1.4 Humber Average

National Average 1.6

Figure 4. Total number of branches per 10,000 residents

This data shows that even prior to the coronavirus crisis, the coverage of banks in Bradford District as a whole is significantly lower than the national and regional average. At a constituency level, four of the five constituencies are below regional and national average with only the Keighley constituency being above. This will reduce further when planned branch closures take place.

8 Constituency level reports

9 Bradford east Constituency Population: 119,270

The wards in this constituency are: and Undercliffe, Bowling and , , Eccleshill, Idle and and

Total Number of bank branches: 2 Total Number of building society branches: 0 Number of residents per branch: 59,635

Bank Branches:

Lloyds Bank 983 Rd, Bradford, BD3 7ND Natwest 151 New Line, , Bradford, BD10 0BT

10 Bradford South Constituency Population: 105,870

The wards in this constituency are: , Queensbury, Royds, , Wibsey, and .

Total Number of bank branches: 1 Total Number of building society branches: 0 Number of residents per branch: 105,870

Bank Branches:

Santander 9 Folly Hall Rd, Wibsey, BD6 1UL (Temporarily closed since 25th March)

11 Bradford West Constituency Population: 118,760

The wards in this constituency are: , Clayton and Fairweather Green, Heaton, Manningham, , and .

Total Number of bank branches: 11 Total Number of building society branches: 3 Number of residents per branch: 8,483

Bank Branches:

HSBC 47 Market St, Bradford BD1 1LW Lloyds Bank City Office, Bradford BD1 1NT Halifax 28 Bank St, Bradford BD1 1PT TSB 4 Tyrrel St, Bradford BD1 1RJ Natwest 1 Market St, Bradford BD1 1EG RBS 45, 47 Bank St, Bradford BD1 1TS

12 Barclays 10 Market St, Bradford BD1 1EG Barclays 2 Carlisle St, Manningham, BD8 7PA (Temporarily closed - branch to close permanently on 19th June) Santander 2 Darley St, Bradford BD1 3HR Yorkshire Bank 14 Broadway, Bradford BD1 1TW Co-operative Bank 6 Tyrrel St, Bradford BD1 1RJ

Building society Branches:

Nationwide 1 Tyrrel St, Bradford BD1 1RU Yorkshire BS Howard House, 6 Bank St, Bradford BD1 1EE Skipton BS 53 Market St, Bradford BD1 1LH

13 Keighley Constituency Population: 97,490

The wards in this constituency are: , , , , , and

Total Number of bank branches: 14 Total Number of building society branches: 6 Number of residents per branch: 4,875

Bank Branches:

HSBC 1 Wells Rd, Ilkley LS29 9JB HSBC 36 North St, Centre, Keighley BD21 3SF Lloyds Bank 54 North St, Airedale Centre, Keighley BD21 3SJ Halifax 7 Station Plaza, Ilkley LS29 8HF Halifax 32, 34 Low St, Keighley BD21 3PT TSB 29 Brook St, Ilkley LS29 8AE

14 TSB 74 Towngate, Airedale Centre, Keighley BD21 3QE Natwest 19 The Grove, Ilkley LS29 9TA Natwest 63 North St, Keighley BD21 3SB Barclays 9 Brook St, Ilkley LS29 8AD Barclays 277 North St, Keighley BD21 3SA Santander 7 The Grove, Ilkley LS29 9LL Santander 2-4 Bow St, Airedale Centre, Keighley BD21 3PE Yorkshire Bank 73 North St, Keighley BD21 3SD

Building society Branches:

Nationwide 25 Low Street, Keighley BD21 3QG Yorkshire BS 8, Station Plaza Station Rd, Ilkley LS29 8HF Yorkshire BS 24 Low St, Keighley BD21 3PN Skipton BS 20 The Grove, Ilkley LS29 9EG Skipton BS 64 Cavendish St, Keighley BD21 3RL

15 Shipley Constituency Population: 95,810

The wards in this constituency are: , Bingley, , Shipley, , and Windhill and .

Total Number of bank branches: 9 Total Number of building society branches: 2 Number of residents per branch: 8,710

Bank Branches:

HSBC 1 Well Croft, Shipley BD18 3QH Halifax 33/34 Market Square, Shipley BD18 3QJ TSB Thomas Duggan House, Well Croft, Shipley BD18 3QH (Branch to close permanently on 25 November 2020) Natwest 19 Market St, Shipley BD18 3PW

16 Barclays 152 Main St, Bingley BD16 2HS (Temporarily closed - branch to close permanently on 10 June 2020) Barclays 35 Otley Rd, Shipley BD18 3QA (Temporarily closed) Santander 155 Main St, Bingley BD16 1AJ Santander 2 Market Square, Shipley BD18 3QB Yorkshire Bank 1 Westgate, Shipley BD18 3SD

Building society Branches:

Yorkshire BS Thomas Duggan House, Well Croft, Shipley BD18 3QH Skipton BS 133-135 Main St, Bingley BD16 1AJ

17 DATASET

18 Bank branches PER CONSTITUENCY In normal circumstances

Natwest / Yorkshire Co-operative HSBC Lloyds Bank TSB Halifax Barclays Santander Total RBS Bank Bank Bradford East 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 Bradford South 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Bradford West 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 11 Keighley 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 0 14 Shipley 1 0 1 1 1 2 2 1 0 9 Total 4 3 4 6 4 6 6 3 1 37

Figure 5. Total number of bank branches per constituency 19 building society branches PER CONSTITUENCY In normal circumstances

Yorkshire Nationwide Skipton .S. Total B.S. Bradford East 0 0 0 0 Bradford South 0 0 0 0 Bradford West 1 1 1 3 Keighley 1 2 3 6 Shipley 0 1 1 2 Total 2 4 4 11

Figure 6. Total number of building society branches per constituency 20 Bank branches PER CONSTITUENCY As of 4th may 2020

Natwest / Yorkshire Co-operative HSBC Lloyds Bank TSB Halifax Barclays Santander Total RBS Bank Bank Bradford East 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 Bradford South 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bradford West 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 11 Keighley 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 0 14 Shipley 1 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 0 9 Total 4 3 4 6 4 3 5 3 1 33

Figure 5. Total number of bank branches per constituency 21 building society branches PER CONSTITUENCY As of 4th may 2020

Yorkshire Nationwide Skipton B.S. Total B.S. Bradford East 0 0 0 0 Bradford South 0 0 0 0 Bradford West 1 1 1 3 Keighley 1 2 3 6 Shipley 0 1 1 2 Total 2 4 4 11

Figure 6. Total number of building society branches per constituency 22 References Brignall, Miles (2019) ‘More than a third of UK bank branches have closed since 2015’ [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/mon- ey/2019/sep/24/more-than-a-third-of-uk-bank-branches-have- closed-since-2015 (Accessed: 3rd May 2020).

Bryan, Kenza (2020) ‘Will the surge to bank apps be the death of branches?’ [Online]. Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/will-the-surge- to-bank-apps-be-the-death-of-branches-8bqf8xbc7 (Accessed: 3rd May 2020).

Parliament. House of Commons (2020) Bank branch and ATM statistics (CBP08570). London: The Stationery Office.

Which? (2020) ‘Bank branch closures: is your local bank closing?’ [Online]. Available at: https://www.which.co.uk/money/banking/switching-your- bank/bank-branch-closures-is-your-local-bank-closing-a28n44c8z0h5 (Accessed: 3rd May 2020).

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