There is no guidance or legislation currently which specifies that local authority parking should be available in cash. However, all local authorities have statutory duties to ensure that they do not discriminate in their decision making against older people or those with vulnerabilities. Cash remains legal tender and it will continue to be used by people who favour its accessibility and ease. Local authorities should ensure that there are alternative provisions for parking payments available so that no part of society is digitally excluded.

The government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking and cash services.

The government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities across the UK, including free withdrawal and deposit facilities in relation to personal current accounts.

Decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue, and the government does not intervene in these. However, under FCA guidance, firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on the everyday banking and cash access needs of their customers and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This seeks to ensure that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.

Alternative options for access to banking can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

The government has no plans to add to regulatory burdens on business by mandating cash acceptance. As technology and consumer behaviour changes, it should remain the choice of individual organisations as to whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card.

Nonetheless, the government recognises that, to support people’s ability to continue to transact using cash, businesses need reasonable access to cash deposit facilities to support them to keep accepting cash.

The government therefore legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish the Financial Conduct Authority as the lead regulator for access to cash and provide it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of both cash withdrawal and cash deposit facilities.

The government considers that this legislation will support organisations, including local businesses, to continue accepting cash by ensuring that they have reasonable access to cash deposit facilities.