Next Parish Council Meeting

The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for Monday 21st November 2022 at 7:30pm. Venue is The Committee Room at Rushbury Village Hall. The meeting will commence with a session available for members of the public to raise points of interest with Councillors.

In the meantime, if you have any matters you would like to raise, please email the Parish Clerk at rushburypc@gmail.com.

West Mercia Police Alerts: Neighbourhood Matters

The Neighbourhood Matters messaging system enables residents, businesses and community groups to keep in touch with local policing teams. You can receive updates on crimes, latest information on on-going incidents and learn more about what we're doing in your community.

You're invited to sign up and become a registered recipient of messages of information, crime alerts or witness appeals local to the area in which you live or work by email, text or telephone.

Don't worry, we won't bombard you with every incident. You can choose exactly the type of alert you wish to receive.

We'd really like to hear from you so why not ask your family, friends and colleagues to register too? Let’s get talking!

Please note that this service is not for reporting crimes or incidents – to make a report please contact West Mercia Police via www.westmercia.police.uk or dial 999 in an emergency.

Please leave your details with the Parish Council and your local SNT will ensure you are signed up to receive alerts or alternatively view the attached PDF to scan the barcode below.

Access to Cash

Response from our Member of Parliament, Rt Hon Philip Dunne to concerns raised about access to cash by the Parish Council Chairman.

From: Philip Dunne MP <philip.dunne.mp@parliament.uk>
Sent: Monday, April 4, 2022 3:49:18 PM
To: Mel McFarland 
Subject: FW: Access to cash in Ludlow (Case Ref: PD40018)

Dear Mel

Thank you for contacting me about cash availability and acceptance.

Cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, which is why the Government has committed to legislate for the protection of access to cash.

As of October 2021, LINK reported that there were around 41,000 free-to-use ATMs in the UK. More broadly, the Financial Conduct Authority reports that as of the second quarter of 2021, nearly 96 per cent of the UK population are within 2km of a free-to-use cash access point.

Following a detailed consultation, the Government intends to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. Having already facilitated the wide-spread adoption of cashback without a purchase through the Financial Services Act 2021, the Government will set out next steps in due course.

Although schemes such as Community Access to Cash have been very successful, I hope that future legislation will ensure the needs of cash users are understood and continue to be met by industry, including large and small retailers.

I know that Covid-19 and its resulting restrictions impacted heavily upon charities' ability to generate cash donations and organising in-person events, and it is important that a return to these modes of fundraising is facilitated. Access to cash is vital for the smooth functioning of these charity fundraising activities, I have spoken with colleagues at the Treasury who assure me that this is at the forefront of considerations when it comes to ensuring access to cash.

I welcome the Government's ambition to further legislate for the protection of access to cash in due course. I will speak to ministerial colleagues to ascertain when this legislation will be brought before Parliament.

I welcomed the establishment of the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy (JACS) Group which brings together representatives of our key financial regulators to provide joined-up and comprehensive oversight of the UK's cash infrastructure. The JACS Group will place a particular emphasis on user needs and the changing nature of cash usage.

With kind regards
Philip
Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP
Member of Parliament for Ludlow

House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
(+(44) 20 7219 2388; Fax: +(44) 20 7219 0788)
web:       www.philipdunne.com
FB:         Dunne4Ludlow
Twitter:   Dunne4Ludlow

at Constituency office:
54 Broad Street, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 1GP
(+(44) 1584 872 187)
Email: philip.dunne.mp@parliament.uk
 _______________________________________
From: Mel McFarland 
Sent: 24 March 2022 15:58
To: DUNNE, Philip <philip.dunne.mp@parliament.uk>
Subject: Access to cash in Ludlow

Dear Mr Dunne,

The pandemic has put an already fragile cash network under additional strain, resulting in further ATM and bank branch closures, including in low-income or rural areas, eroding access for people who need it most.

Ludlow hasn't been the worst-hit community, but we must not get complacent. More must be done to protect those who aren't yet ready or able to move to digital payments.

Cash remains a crucial part of many people’s lives, helping them to budget effectively, and with the cost of living squeezing our finances this has become more important than ever. But failure to help communities access their cash will leave vulnerable people at crisis point and have a potentially devastating knock-on effect on local high streets.

We need you to take action.

In the March 2020 Budget, the Chancellor made a commitment to introducing legislation protecting access to cash. However, two years on and this has still not been introduced.

With the Queen’s Speech fast approaching, I, like many others working with Which?, want to see you raise the issue in Parliament to key decision-makers. Help us get some answers: when will the government follow through on its promise to deliver legislation to protect cash?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,
Mel McFarland