This proposed law seeks to bring more financial assets into the dormant assets scheme, allowing them to be distributed to good causes. A dormant asset is a financial product that has not been used for many years and which the provider has not been able to reunite with its owner.
Dormant Assets Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (292 KB , PDF)
On 26 May 2021, the second reading of the Dormant Assets Bill [HL] is scheduled to take place in the House of Lords.
A dormant asset is a financial product that has not been used for many years and which the provider has not been able to reunite with its owner. The Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008 established a scheme that distributes such assets from bank and building society accounts to good causes, while retaining funds to meet any future claims on them. Accounts must be dormant for 15 years to be transferred to the scheme. It has so far distributed £745 million.
The bill’s purpose is to extend this scheme to a range of other financial assets, including long-term insurance, pensions, collective investment schemes, client money and securities assets. The Government estimates this could generate a further £880 million for good causes.
The scheme operates on three main principles:
These would remain unchanged under the bill, as would much of the scheme’s operational detail. However, each new category of asset would have its own tailored definition of dormancy. Other measures in the bill include:
The bill follows a series of reviews and consultations on the scheme. These have included a report by ‘industry champions’, to ensure that changes are led by the financial services industry.
Dormant Assets Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (292 KB , PDF)
Concerns have been raised about the state of the opera sector in England, with much of this focused on the financial pressures it is facing. Some institutions face reductions in Arts Council funding and, taken together with increasing costs, this has led to cuts in performances and concerns about the sector’s future viability. Concerns have also been raised about diversity and equality across opera, including in audiences and the workforce.
The importance of social cohesion and strong communities has often been discussed in the context of international events which have increased tensions between groups in the UK. This briefing examines what is meant by social cohesion, provides an overview of recent reports on social cohesion and communities, and sets out recent government statements on its policies to address concerns about social cohesion.
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