Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture,
Media and Sport) (): Today, the Government has
announced that community wealth funds will join youth, financial
inclusion, and social investment wholesalers as the named
purposes of the English portion of dormant assets funding. This
follows a public consultation last year, where we heard views
from over 3,300 people, organisations, and financial services
industry participants. The responses were clear that we must
build on the successes of the Scheme so far and ensure it
continues to deliver the greatest impact possible.
To date, the money has been put to work tackling barriers to
employment for disadvantaged young people; supporting households
to get out of problem debt; and investing in charities and social
enterprises across the country. Soon, a community wealth fund
will join these three causes and empower local people to make
decisions on how best to improve their neighbourhoods.
We have chosen these causes because the consultation made clear
the strength of support for each of them and because we believe
they strike the right balance between amplifying the progress
that has been made to date while driving forward new innovations.
This will allow us to build upon the solid foundations to develop
an expanded Scheme that is not only right for now, but also for
the years ahead.
The Dormant Assets Scheme continues to be underpinned by the
voluntary participation of financial services firms. Its
expansion through primary legislation last year marked the
beginning of a long-term programme of work to unlock an estimated
£880 million more across the UK over time. With £738 million of
this to be apportioned for England, now is the right time to
ensure the current impact of the Scheme is amplified and to focus
on the careful design of a community wealth fund set to last
decades.
A community wealth fund is a pot of money distributed to
communities in deprived areas and released over a long time
period. In line with the community wealth fund’s focus on giving
more decision-making power to people, we will soon launch a
technical consultation on the design of this important new
initiative to ensure the public’s views are embedded into the way
it will operate in practice. Once Parliament has passed secondary
legislation to include this new cause, eligible communities will
be empowered to make decisions on how best to use the money to
improve their areas.
The Government has also announced today that some of the most
vulnerable people in society will be given additional support to
deal with the cost of living, as £76 million from the current
Scheme is unlocked. Beneficiaries include: no-interest loans for
69,000 individuals struggling with finances via a £45 million
grant distributed by Fair4All Finance; and £31 million of
investment for hundreds of charities and social enterprises,
distributed by social investors Access and Big Society Capital.
This will be used to retro-fit premises with cleaner, greener,
and more efficient energy systems, such as new boilers or heat
pumps, solar panels, and new lighting.
The Dormant Assets Scheme is a perfect example of what happens
when the public, private, and civil society sectors come
together, in partnership, to drive change and support those most
in need. The Government looks forward to continuing this
important work to make a real difference to people’s lives across
the country.
