Stephen has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, urging him to look at the issue of access to cash in East Ham.
Research from the consumer body Which? found that 32% of free-to-use-cashpoints in East Ham vanished between August 2018 and December 2021. The research followed a report by the Financial Conduct Authority which showed that 5 million adults still use cash for their purchases. Many of these individuals are from low-income families or the elderly, who have little access to the internet.
In his letter to the Chancellor, Stephen asked what plans the government has on introducing legislation to protect access to cash. Ministers previously committed to doing this in March 2020, but two years later this required legislation is yet to be introduced to the house of commons.
Speaking about the campaign Stephen said, "Cash remains essential to people's lives. My constituents, who rely on cash, are troubled by the fact that there is a third fewer cashpoints in East Ham than there were four years ago.
“It is vital that the Government find ways to protect access to cash and ensure that a decline in cash use does not contribute to inequality."