I beg to move

That the Rates (Exemption for Automatic Telling Machines in Rural Areas) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024 be affirmed.

The Business Committee has agreed that there should be no time limit on the debate. I call the Minister to open the debate on the motion.

The order reintroduces the rural ATM rates exemption scheme for the 2024-25 rating year. The exemption lapsed in the absence of an Executive and an Assembly in 2023, when affirmative resolution legislation could not be passed. Today's order addresses that by restoring the scheme to operation and ensuring that no liability is incurred for the lapsed period. The scheme has always been a micro-measure but has been seen as an important localised measure with the policy objective of sustaining the provision of ATMs in rural areas through the removal of any rates liability for those facilities.

I recently met representatives of high street banks, UK Finance, LINK and Cash Access UK to talk about the impact of branch closures on communities and the availability of ATMs and over-the-counter services. All of us will know that the retention of ATMs is particularly valued in rural communities that have been impacted on by branch closures, as well as by older people and low-income customers. It therefore makes sense to see what the Executive and the Assembly can do to encourage the retention of rural ATMs.

Previous research and analysis, along with feedback received during the 2019 business rates review, which was conducted just before the pandemic, confirmed that stakeholders wanted to see the scheme retained, despite the declining number of machines that were rated. I recognise, and my officials have advised the Finance Committee of this, that the legislation goes a small way towards helping the retention of specific ATMs in rural areas by extending the scheme until the end of March 2025. The scheme will continue to apply to stand-alone rural ATMs that are individually valued in the valuation list, such as separate units on main streets or completely stand-alone units. As in previous years, the scheme does not need to apply to ATMs that are located in and valued as part of banks or building societies. The value of those machines is subsumed into the overall value of that property, which is to say that they have no stand-alone rates liability. The current cost of the measure continues to be modest, at less than £50,000 in forgone rates revenue. The scheme continues to assist the retention of rural ATMs, which, as was noted in Committee, is important to many of our rural communities.

Article 1 sets out the citation, commencement and interpretation provisions. Article 2 specifies a later date of 1 April 2025 for the purposes of the definition of "relevant year" in article 42(1G) of the Rates Order 1977, with the result that the exemption will continue until 31 March 2025. Article 3 revokes the Rates (Exemption for Automatic Telling Machines in Rural Areas) Order (Northern Ireland) 2022, which had previously extended the exemption until 31 March 2023, prior to the measure's expiring in the absence of a functioning Assembly.

I look forward to Members' comments. I commend the rates order to the House.

Again, I speak for the Committee for Finance about our scrutiny of the statutory rule. I thank the Minister once again for her comments.

The Committee spent considerable time discussing the policy proposal to reinstate a micro-policy in the rating system, giving a rates exemption to ATMs in a designated rural area. The policy was first considered by the Committee on 6 March 2024. At that time, members agreed to seek clarification from the Department of Finance on recipients most likely to benefit from the rates exemption. At the Committee's meeting on 20 March 2024, members noted information from the Department that highlighted the fact that the majority of recipients of the relief are banks or electronic money services companies. The Department indicated that that has been the case since the scheme was first put in place and that one aim of the scheme is to encourage banks and money services companies to keep the ATMs in their current locations.

Some members expressed concerns that a number of recipients of the exemption are banks. The majority of members, however, indicated that the proposal has merit. The Committee agreed that it was content with the proposal for the statutory rule. SR 2024/88 was laid in the Business Office on 4 April. At the Committee's meeting on 17 April, members noted that the Examiner of Statutory Rules (ESR) had not drawn any matters to do with the rule to the attention of the Committee. While members agreed to recommend that the rule be affirmed by the Assembly, further information was requested from the Department on a number of issues relating to rural ATMs, including statistics on the number of rural ATMs over the past five years, on the current location and operators of rural ATMs and on whether the Department has considered ways in which to publicise the availability of a rates rebate for rural ATMs. The Committee also agreed to request information on how many current recipients of the rates rebate for rural ATMs charge for the use of those ATMs — ie which are the kind that charges people £1 or £2 to withdraw cash rather than the free ones.

In Committee on 8 May, members noted the geographical distribution of the current ATMs that are valued as separate rateable entries and are exempt from rates under the scheme. Members noted that the valuation approach to ATMs has significantly altered following a Supreme Court ruling in Cardtronics UK Ltd and others versus Sykes and others, and, as a result, the number of ATMs valued as separate entities in the valuation list has significantly reduced. However, that does not mean that the ATMs are no longer in place but that they are no longer valued separately. The Committee also noted that the rate exemption for rural ATMs is not a rebate. It is applied automatically before bills are issued according to rural wards set out in legislation and known to the Department. Therefore, it is felt that publicity is not required.

Finally, members noted that the Department does not hold data on which operators charge for ATM services. During the Committee's consideration of the rule, members noted with concern the more general decline of banking institutions and ATMs in rural areas. Members have agreed to look at the issue more closely as part of a piece of work around banking services. The Committee supports the motion to affirm.

I will now make some brief remarks in a political capacity. We obviously support what is, in cash terms, an extremely small measure but is useful nevertheless. It is vital for rural communities to keep hold of ATMs because access to cash is extremely important in all areas but particularly in rural areas. Those cash services help to support such things as small, charitable, community, sporting groups and clubs in all their activities, endeavours and fundraising. It would be unthinkable to see a further decline in the number of ATMs.

Some of what we learned in the Committee suggests that it is important that the Department, having taken this step and the fact that we are debating the legislation today, does all that it can. I welcome the fact that the Minister met UK Finance and the banks, and I would welcome an update from her on the contents of that conversation. As much as is possible should be done to really dig into the locations of rural ATMs and to be absolutely blunt and direct with all of those institutions about the availability of the rate relief. It is not a huge measure. It is a self-described micro-measure, but the fact that it exists means that it should be communicated loudly and publicly to all of the banks so that any excuses for removing services — whether full-blown branches or ATMs — are removed. I would welcome the Minister updating us on that, including on whether there is some kind of partnership with UK Finance or some way of communicating that.

I would also suggest that, given that some of those people will be members of retail bodies, such as Retail NI or the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) — often ATMs in rural areas are in the forecourt of the Spar garage, Vivo or whatever — any communication that can be given to those entities, whether they are a bank or retail premises that might not already be availing themselves of an ATM service or might be thinking of closing one, is critical, given that the amount of money does qualify. I do not want to be too flippant about this: it is a trivial sum of money, even in constrained times, but it is not a trivial issue for rural communities.

I would also just make a point about financial services. I welcome the fact that the Minister is reaching out to organisations such as UK Finance and banks in general. We will have a debate on related matters later, around insurance services. It gets to a broader point that the Committee has agreed to look at around financial services here. We are in a particular, unique position, and we have never quite grasped it in the devolution era. Financial services are a reserved matter; they are a matter for the Treasury. I think that the Minister would agree that, in the Treasury — this is not to impugn the officials working in financial services there — as is the case with lots of things, the needs of Northern Ireland and the specific financial services picture here, including the rurality of our society, are not well understood or, frankly, a priority. We cannot expect financial services policy to be designed and tailored for this region, so we need to think hard about how we, as an Assembly and an Executive, can be front-footed and even proactive, even if the policy matter is, technically, reserved. That would involve communication with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), so I genuinely welcome the fact that the Minister has already started that engagement. It is vital that she and the Finance Committee do as much as they can in that space.

Banking here is regulated by the PRA, the Bank of England and the FCA, but, obviously, our banking market is structurally different. We know that it is much more all-island, which means that it has been affected by Brexit. We also know that we have a much more rural society and that small business is a bigger part of the economy than it is across the water. It is really critical that, in what is left of the mandate, we try, at the least, to agree a set of interventions that we can take to the people in London who make the decisions about financial services in this society and what they mean for our economy.

I wanted to make those broader points, but we support the order.

I support the motion, and I thank the Minister for proposing it. The statutory rule reinstates a small but significant scheme that grants a rates exemption to ATMs situated in rural wards. Owing to a change in valuation case law, the scheme now applies only to a small number of ATMs that are valued individually, such as those outside petrol stations or on main streets.

As an MLA for a rural constituency, I know all too well the essential service that ATMs provide in rural areas. Rural dwellers rely heavily on cash to access goods and services, and, in many towns and villages, ATMs are the only means of accessing cash. Many people prefer to use cash to pay for goods and services, and that personal choice must be respected. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult for rural dwellers to access cash, as towns and villages across the North lose their ATM provision.

In recent years, many of the major banks have closed their rural branches, abandoning communities and leaving them without face-to-face banking services. Lisnaskea lost its last bank branch in March, when Ulster Bank decided to withdraw from the town. That corporate decision was made in London with zero regard for the communities in south-east Fermanagh. Today, there is no 24-hour cash access in the town. The loss of that bank branch has been a huge blow not only to Lisnaskea but to the surrounding towns and villages that it has served for decades.

The cost-of-living crisis and the rise of large online retailers make it difficult for rural businesses to turn a profit. ATMs are an essential driver for economic activity on our rural main streets and have a key role in rural regeneration. The statutory rule is an important step in protecting the rural ATMs that remain, and I hope that it will act as an incentive to rural businesses to provide ATM services in the near future.

We welcome the rates exemption for ATMs in designated rural areas. I take the opportunity to raise awareness of the exemption to encourage more providers to consider operating ATMs in rural areas such as South Down, where I live and which I represent. Access to cash is a huge concern for people across Northern Ireland, especially in our rural communities, where you are many miles away from your bank and completely cut off when the internet or phone connections are down.

With the regularly reported closure of local banks, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to access their personal banking and their cash. Much has been made of banking hubs, but they are not the answer for cash access, as they simply offer an over-the-counter post office service for cash withdrawal in office hours. They do not have ATMs, and they do not provide access to cash in the evenings or at weekends.

Further to my call for more access to cash is my emphasis on people's right to access their cash free of charge. In response to my question for written answer, the Finance Minister indicated that, as of the first quarter of 2023, 81% of ATMs in Northern Ireland are free to use, which, as she noted, compares favourably with 78% in Great Britain.

However, I note the extremely rural nature of Northern Ireland, and the fact that 19% of ATMs here charge people to access their own money is ridiculous. I acknowledge that the Assembly does not have legislative authority over banking, but, in the absence of that authority, I welcome all actions that we can possibly take to improve free access to cash for individuals in Northern Ireland. I am pleased to say that the Finance Committee will work on that.

I support the motion to affirm the legislation, and I take the opportunity to raise awareness of the exemption. We support the motion.

Again, I rise to very briefly put on record the Alliance Party's support for the proposed rule, which will reinstate the micro policy of applying a rates exemption to ATMs in designated rural areas. Like the previous order that we debated, this is an example of a policy that lapsed in the absence of an Assembly, and, as someone who does not really use cash very often, I have to say that I was surprised at the extent to which I was lobbied on the issue when the Assembly was down.

I welcome, however, that we are now in a position to reinstate the policy in this annual technical vote. Having been a feature of our rating system since 2007, and having been consulted on twice since then, the exemption has a negligible impact on cost and administration, given that Land and Property Services is able to automatically apply it. However, the exemption has a hugely significant impact on our rural communities. There is, as others said, an important equality consideration in access to cash for not only our rural communities but those older people who are not necessarily digital natives.

However, figures suggest that, even with the policy in place, there continues to be a decline in the availability of rural ATMs and bank branches on our high streets. The very recent announcement that a Halifax branch in Portadown in my constituency will not reopen following a fire earlier this year is another example of that. We all have examples of loss of services in our constituencies. Whilst I appreciate that powers in this space are limited because, as others said, financial services and banking is largely a reserved issue, I encourage the Minister to continue to advocate as best she can at a UK level. That is because it appears that our policy approach in this area sometimes appears to be a carrot approach from the Assembly without there necessarily being a stick at UK level through regulation to work with industry in order to ensure the accessibility of cash and other banking services on our high streets.

I thank the Minister for tabling the motion, and I am happy to support the order.

I thank Members for their useful comments on the order and on the wider issues relating to the extension of the exemption in rural areas.

The scheme is, as things stand, worth continuing for those who live in isolated rural communities and who still depend on the availability of cash from ATMs. We all appreciate the difficulties that are encountered in those communities because of any measure that could limit the circulation of cash, and I am happy to continue this one as long as it continues to help provide some support to people and businesses in rural areas.

I will pick up on some of the comments that Members made. The policy intent is about retaining ATMs in rural areas, and Matthew and Diane referred to how some ATMs are fee charging. During the initial consultation on the measure, there was a suggestion that it should apply only to free-to-use ATMs. However, some of the feedback was that even a fee-charging ATM is better than no ATM in a rural community. Certainly, I am of the view that it is less palatable to give a rates exemption to those who charge fees, but it is also about retaining services in a local area. I raised that issue when I met the representatives of the banking industry.

Mr O'Toole also asked about that engagement. It was about the broader issues in the concerns about the branch network and the number of closures that we have seen over recent years. It was also about how those decisions are taken and the need to ensure that communities have access to cash. We are a region that is more cash dependent. Figures from last year showed us to be the only region to have had an increase in cash withdrawals since the previous year, so it is important to ensure that communities have access to cash. Diane and Áine spoke to the importance of that in rural areas that have recently lost bank branches.

I will continue to engage with the sector on that. In the autumn, I hope to have a repeat of the round table that Minister Murphy had in the previous mandate. My officials have been engaging with the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority on all these issues. It is important that, collectively, we make the case for people to have the ability to access banking services.

In closing, I ask Members to support the measure and I commend the order to the Assembly.

Question put and agreed to. Resolved:

That the Rates (Exemption for Automatic Telling Machines in Rural Areas) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024 be affirmed.