Sefton Liberal Democrats are at the heart of a campaign to save the chequebook. The campaign follows last December’s decision by the Payments Council, which acts on behalf of all major high-street banks, to phase out all cheques by 2018. Southport MP, Dr. John Pugh, has called on the Payments Council to reconsider their plans in Parliament.
A private members bill was presented to Parliament, if passed it will require banks to continue to offer a cheque service as long as consumers and businesses want them. The Bill was seconded by Dr. Pugh who commented that: “The decision taken by the Payments Council is shortsighted. They have not come up with an adequate alternative.”Crosby Area Liberal Democrat activist, James Ludley argues that: “I have had a lot of residents raising their concerns with me about this issue. As it stands the decision will create major problems for elderly, disabled and housebound people who rely on cheques in their everyday lives. A cheque is a secure method of payment for those housebound. They cannot just pop out and use the ‘hole in the wall’.”
A private members bill is a legislative notion outlined by an individual MP. In this instance there is no legislation stopping the banking community from phasing out chequebooks. Mr. Ludley hopes that the Bill will highlight the importance of this issue before the process is begun by the banks.
Mr. Ludley further added: “Charities will also suffer from the abolition of cheques as they rely heavily on donations made by this process, especially those with an elderly supporter base. Not all charities have the resources to take online donations. This is an issue that I strongly oppose and one that I, alongside my Liberal Democrat colleagues, will fight hard against.”
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