RBS has been warned that controversial plans to close branches in remote communities could breach disability laws.
A group of organisations has joined forces to write to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to ask whether the proposals would contravene the Equalities Act 2010.
The move emerged amid concerns that replacing branches with mobile banking vans would be “inaccessible and inconvenient” for many people with physical disabilities.
And a spokesman for the EHRC confirmed last night that it had already raised the issue with RBS, and that it was “high on our agenda”.
The campaigners who have joined forces include Scottish Rural Action, Disability Equality Scotland (DES), and Jeane Freeman MSP, the Scottish Government’s social security minister.
Bosses at RBS have defended plans to axe 52 branches in Scotland, with another 10 in remote and rural areas under review, highlighting its “big network” of mobile banks, serving 440 communities.
But Emma Cooper, chief executive of Scottish Rural Action, said: “We already knew that the plans from RBS hadn’t taken fully into consideration the impacts on Scotland’s rural communities, so it comes as no surprise to see that RBS has failed to consider some of it’s most vulnerable customers.
“It’s clearer than ever that this has been a decision based purely on figures on a balance sheet and RBS is not prioritising its customers needs.
“We have asked the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to urgently assess if this is in breach of the Equalities Act before RBS is allowed to proceed.
“There is still time for RBS to reconsider its planned closures – evidence of the impacts on rural communities and disabled customers is now piling up. The human impact far outweighs some figures on a balance sheet.”
Morven Brooks, chief executive officer at Disability Equality Scotland, said “Our members had very genuine concerns over the impact these proposed closures will have on disabled people; specifically the introduction of inaccessible and inconvenient mobile banks, which do not provide the service that disabled people are entitled to.”
An EHRC spokesman said: “The EHRC had already raised these access issues with RBS before receiving DES’s letter, and it is an issue that is high on our agenda.”
