The Futurebuilders England loan fund has received £48m of repayments so far, and much of the money will be committed to a new project in the sector later this summer, the Office for Civil Society has said.

The Futurebuilders fund was set up with £215m under the previous government to lend money into the sector, and lent out around £150m to help charities win government contracts.

The Social Investment Business, the social lender which ran the fund, had hoped to be able to lend out repayments from the fund again, but instead it was closed by the coalition after the election, with prime minister David Cameron criticising it for "poor delivery".

According to the SIB, the fund has received £48m in repayments so far, and is expected to receive another £15m in the next two years.

A spokeswoman for the OCS told Civil Society News that her department was “exploring options” for the use of the fund, and expected to make an announcement very shortly. She said the money would be spent in the social sector, and that it would be committed to a new project.

She said £20m of the money had already been earmarked for the Social Outcomes Fund, a fund which backs social impact bonds.

Sir Stephen Bubb, chief executive of Acevo and chairman of the Social Investment Business Foundation, the parent charity of the SIB, called for the money to be spent on social investment.

“It’s absolutely essential that money that comes from Futurebuilders is ring-fenced for social finance,” he said. “There’s a huge unmet demand in the sector for simple straightforward loans.”