Bank crisis demands action not platitudes, insists MP Stone
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"Action not platitudes" is what North MP Jamie Stone demanded as he called upon the Government to intervene in the area's banking crisis.
Wick lost the services of the Royal Bank of Scotland when the town's branch shut its doors for good and with it its ATM cashpoint machine a year ago.
Elsewhere in Caithness and Sutherland, other bank branches have cleared their vaults and moved out.
Since 2015 the Bank of Scotland has closed its branches in Dornoch, Lairg, Helmsdale and Bonar Bridge and the Royal Bank has shut its branches in Tongue and Lochinver.
More recently, the Brora branch of Clydesdale bank shut up shop leaving the Bank of Scotland's Golspie branch as the only open bank left in Sutherland.
With internet access being an issue for many rural residents in Caithness and Sutherland, banking online has proved to be difficult with many facing long round-trips – some up to 150 miles long – to find a branch where they can conduct their banking affairs.
Raising the issue in the House of Commons during the Queen's Speech debate, Mr Stone said: "Very shortly I am going to have one bank branch in the entire county of Sutherland.
It is time to take action on this very serious issue which undermines the economy
"Every time I raise the issue of bank closures in my constituency the Treasury responds with comforting words about 99 per cent of people living within one mile of Post Offices.
"However, this is of no help to my constituents, many of whom live twenty, thirty or even forty miles from a Post Office or bank branch.
"Surely now it is time to take action on this very serious issue which undermines the economy not just of Scotland but also of the UK.”
Outside of Parliament, Mr Stone added: "Platitudes about 99 per cent of people living within one mile of a Post Office mean nothing to many of my constituents when it comes to bank closures.
"Relying on Post Offices to replace banks ignores the obvious problem of Post Office closures, which continue alongside bank closures, at an alarming rate.
"We need banks and the Post Office to work together to provide joint branches which would give customers face-to-face advice and the ability to accept cash and cheques, regardless of which bank you are actually with.
"The Government must act, we face a real banking crisis in the Highlands, and it is their duty to step in and invest in combined banking facilities."
