Cameron to plough all unclaimed assets into Big Society Bank 1

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 19 Jul 2010

Prime minister David Cameron has promised that "every single penny of dormant accounts" will be used to fund the Big Society Bank.

Cameron made the announcement today at an event in Liverpool to launch the Big Society, saying the Big Society Bank would finance social enterprises and charities through intermediaries and would be established with "every single penny of dormant accounts".

A spokesman for Co-operative Bank, which is handling the dormant accounts reclaim fund, said it estimated the bank would have obtained between £60m and £100m by April.

Cameron also hinted that the Big Society Bank would focus on smaller organisations which lacked start-up capital:

“The government is moving to paying public service providers by results,” said Cameron. “It’s value for money and brings innovations. But it can lock out smaller organisations who don’t have the start up capital therefore we must bridge the gap between private capital and social projects.”

The Bank is set to start giving out funds by April Cameron said the combination of unclaimed assets and private investment could raise up to £100m of new finance for social organisations.

He cited the Bank as one of three techniques the Tories will use to galvanise the Big Society, along with decentralisation and transparency.

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Gordon Hunter
Director
Lincs Community Foundation
19 Jul 2010

How much is buried in these dormant vaults? The original commission reckoned £1 billion from banks, pensions, premium bonds, insurance. Now we're told that there may be £60 million or 100, or 250 or 300. Not a reliable benchmark for planning.

It's in the banks' interests to minimise the target and maximise the process. When my own charity received a dormant account from a legally transfered trust we were blocked for 15 months. The case is now with the ombudsman.

We need to define the target, agree the protocols, then spend the money well: local grants rather than complicated loan products.

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