Dormant accounts slowly waking up?

The Chancellor, Gordon Brown has revealed progress on the unclaimed assets issue in his pre-budget statement on 5 December 2005.

He said:

The Government and the industry have agreed that the definition of an unclaimed asset should generally cover accounts where there has been no customer activity for a period of 15 years as that will best identify those accounts that are genuinely unclaimed, and it will consult further on the detail of this. On this basis, initial record searches by the industry suggest that several hundred million pounds may currently lie unclaimed.

The Government and the industry will continue to work together, to develop the best structure to deliver this approach, and have said they will consult with stakeholders such as organisations representing the interests of young people and the Commission on Unclaimed Assets.

An independent Commission on Unclaimed Assets has been set up at the initiative of the Scarman Trust to engage government, banks, consumer groups, charities and the voluntary and community sector to recommend a framework for their productive use for the benefit of disadvantaged communities in the UK. NCVO is on the Advisory Council for the Commission.

The Balance Charitable Foundation was established in December 2003 and welcomed by the Government. It is a charitable initiative whose objectives are to release unclaimed assets held by UK financial institutions and to make grants to the charitable sector. It is a private sector initiative independent of Government, financial institutions and the voluntary sector.

www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

www.balancefoundation.org.uk