To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department’s latest estimate is of the number and proportion of working age people (a) in each age group and (b) in total without a bank account in the UK; and if he will make a statement. (269348)

The Government are committed to reducing financial exclusion and increasing the number of people who can manage their money by using a bank account.

The Family Resources Survey data for 2006-07, published in June last year, shows that the number of adults living without access to a bank account fell from 2.8 million in 2002-03 to 2.1 million in 2006-07.

The Financial Inclusion Taskforce recently published their third annual report on access to banking. The report contains profiles of the number of people in the UK without access to a bank account, including breakdowns by age. You can find the report on the Taskforce’s website:

http://www.financialinclusion-taskforce.org.uk